Thesis advisor: Kalpana Seshadri / The dominant discourse on the Sri Lankan civil war classifies it as an ethnic conflict resulting from Sinhalese Buddhist nationalism and Tamil nationalism. The classification of Sri Lanka as an ethnic conflict neglects to account for divisions within both the Sinhala community and the Tamil community, especially along class and caste divisions. This thesis provides a nuanced historical understanding of the Sri Lankan civil war as a class conflict arising from Sinhalese nationalism and manufactured ethnic tensions. The argument presented is that the Sri Lankan civil war is rooted in class struggle within and across ethnic groups for access to political power and economic equality. Since there have been instances of solidarity between Sinhalese people and Tamils due to shared class interests, it is clear that ethnic divisions were not inherent to the Sri Lankan polity but were caused by colonial policies and class divisions. To make this argument, the thesis utilizes an intersectional Marxist framework accounting for the influence of ethnic relations in class theories of exploitation, exclusion, and class interests. The thesis concludes with a focus on the current economic crisis in Sri Lanka and how it furthers my argument for a nuanced understanding of the civil war with attention to the class disparities in the nation. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2022. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Departmental Honors. / Discipline: International Studies.

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The Rohingya are considered one of the most oppressed ethnicities in the group, due to their losing their citizenship and being persecuted, and being victims of state-sponsored violence. This thesis aims to find the reasoning behind, why the Rohingya have been targeted and treated as a scapegoat within Myanmar. To do this, this research is conducting a historical analysis to find the historical reasons for the discourse the different Myanmar governments have used to discredit the Rohingya claims to their place in the Rakhine state. A comparative analysis with other historically oppressed ethnicities is also implemented to highlight the unique case of the Rohingya and to better understand the nature of how scapegoats form. In support of the academic material, the research is also utilizing a media analysis of state-sponsored newspapers to understand the discourse of the conflict. Finally, this variety of analytic methods is tied together with a theoretical framework consisting of the joint use of Post-colonialism, Social-Identity theory, and Scapegoat theory.