L’étude des Tamouls à Colombo, Kuala Lumpur et Singapour montre l’intérêt d’adopter une perspective comparative et multiscalaire pour saisir dans toute leur complexité les différents facteurs agissant sur l’identification et l’intégration socio-spatiale d’un groupe minoritaire transnational. Ces Tamouls évoluent dans des contextes politiques nationaux très différents. À Sri Lanka, ils se retrouvent au cœur d’un conflit intercommunautaire. À Singapour, ils sont reconnus officiellement comme l’une des composantes de la société multiculturelle alors qu’en Malaise, l’État privilégie les Malais. L’analyse des politiques menées par la puissance coloniale, puis par les trois États indépendants à l’égard des minorités, permet de mieux comprendre leurs impacts sur le sentiment d’identification et d’intégration des Tamouls à la Nation, ainsi que sur leur répartition dans ces villes. À l’échelle locale, l’inscription spatiale de leur identité et les pratiques citadines des Tamouls favorisent une appropriation de leur environnement urbain. Toutefois, cette dernière n’est pas immuable. Les politiques urbaines développées par les États, qui selon les cas préservent ou détruisent les ethnoterritoires, ont des conséquences sur l’empreinte urbaine tamoule et leur pratique de la ville. Cette réalité n’est pas sans conséquences sur la façon dont les Tamouls perçoivent leur appartenance à la Nation. Enfin, les liens transnationaux (culturels, politiques, économiques) entre Tamouls et les dynamiques migratoires internationales contemporaines des Tamouls dans ces trois pays ont également des conséquences sur l’identification et l’intégration de ceux de Colombo, Kuala Lumpur et Singapour. / The study of Tamils in Colombo, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore shows the importance of adopting a multi-scale and comparative perspective in order to fully grasp an understanding of the complexity of the various factors affecting the identification and socio-spatial integration of a transnational minority group. These Tamils evolve in very different national political contexts. In Sri Lanka, they are at the heart of inter-communal conflicts. In Singapore, they are officially recognized as a component of a multicultural society, whilst in Malaysia the government officially favors Malays. The analysis of the policies enforced by the colonial power, followed by the three independent states toward minorities provides a better understanding of their impacts on the sense of identity and integration of Tamils in the Nation, as well as their geographical distribution in these cities. At the local level, the spatial inscription of tamil identity and their urban practices favor an appropriation of their urban environment. However, it is not immutable. Urban policies developed by states, which according to the cases preserve or destroy ethnoterritories, have an impact on the Tamil urban footprint and their practical of the city. This reality is not without consequence on how Tamils perceive their attachement to the nation. Finally, transnational ties (cultural, political, economical) between Tamils and contemporary dynamics of international migration of Tamils in these three countries also have consequences on the identification and integration of those from Colombo, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.

This study examines trade union resistance to the post 1977 Export Oriented Industrialisation (EOI) strategies in Sri Lanka, and the possibilities of developing new strategic options. In contrast to perspectives that narrow unions to political economic dimensions, this study emphasises the cultural and the movement dimensions of unions. The purpose of the study is to understand the ways unions can regain their role as civil society actors on the basis of building worker solidarity. The study is divided into two main parts. The first part focuses on the features and tendencies of social movement unionism as advancing new possibilities towards revitalising unions. Under globalisation, unions are faced with an increasingly casualised labour force with more women absorbed as wage workers. The promotion of labour market deregulation and privatisation, endorsed by neo-liberal ideologies of competitive individualism, illustrates the narrowing of unions to the workplace while undermining worker solidarity. The first part of this research describes the impact of :neo-liberal globalisation on trade unions; conceptualisation of and resistance to globalisation; the essence of trade unions; social movement unionism and labour internationalism. According to social movement unionism perspectives, party independent union strategies, based on elements of internal democracy and structured alliances open the possibility of emphasising the movement dimension of unions. The second part explains the context of unions in Sri Lanka, focusing on three unions - the Nurses, Tea Plantation workers, and Free Trade Zone workers. In terms of the structural context, Sri Lankan unions faced a multi-faceted weakening under the post-1977 EOI policies. The assertion of an authoritarian state, promoting interests of capital, enhanced the fragmentation of unions along party differences that were further compounded by divisions along ethnic identity politics. Moreover, the increasing militarisation of the state, which maintains a protracted ethnic war, reinforced coercive state strategies restraining union resistance and shrinking the realm of civil society. In confronting state strategies of labour market deregulation and privatisation, the enduring party subordinated unions are increasingly inadequate. In contrast, the three unions in this study express forms of party-independent union strategies. By analysing their modes of resistance related to the articulation of worker interests, their organisational modes, and their engagement in representative and movement politics the study explores the possibility of developing a social movement unionism orientation in order to regain their role as civil society actors

Fair Trade is an international movement which aims to strengthen the livelihoods of producers in the South, and to give the opportunity for conscious customers in the North to buy socially and environmentally friendly products. The conventional trade system is criticised, as well as the efficiency of aid to support developing countries. The core idea of Fair Trade is therefore “Trade not Aid”, where marginalised producers are given the chance to improve their living conditions by fair wages, market access and improved working conditions. The aim of the thesis is to investigate the potential of Fair Trade to contribute to sustainable development and empowerment, which therefore also act as the theoretical frameworks for this thesis. Sustainable development is investigated by its division into economic, social and environmental sustainable development. Fair Trade is furthermore investigated through specific key elements connected to these theories, by performing interviews with managers and producers within five separate Fair Trade organisations in India and Sri Lanka.  The main findings within this study reveal how Fair Trade does have the potential to contribute to sustainable development and empowerment to a certain degree. It is specifically prominent regarding social development and empowerment, while economic development occurs mainly on an individual level. The contribution to environmental development is also possible to detect, even though it remains clear how the initiative to do so might not always be fully related to environmental causes. / Fair Trade är en internationell rörelse som fokuserar på att förbättra livssituationen för producenter i Syd, och att ge medvetna konsumenter i Nord möjligheten att köpa produkter med miljöhänsyn och socialt ansvar. Det konventionella handelssystemet kritiseras, såväl som effektiviteten för bistånd att stödja utvecklingsländer. Grundtanken med Fair Trade är därmed “Trade not Aid”, då marginaliserade producenter får möjligheten att förbättra sina livssituationer genom rättvisa löner, tillgång till en marknad och förbättrade arbetsförhållanden. Syftet med den här studien är att undersöka Fair Trades potential att bidra till hållbar utveckling och empowerment, vilket därmed är det teoretiska ramverket för den här studien. Hållbar utveckling undersöks även genom att dela upp det i ekonomisk, social och miljömässig hållbar utveckling. Fair Trade utreds även utifrån specifika indikatorer kopplade till dessa teorier, genom intervjuer med managers och producenter inom fem separata Fair Trade-organisationer i Indien och Sri Lanka. De huvudsakliga upptäckterna inom denna studie visar hur Fair Trade har potentialen att bidra till hållbar utveckling och empowerment i viss utsträckning. Det är speciellt framträdande vad gäller social utveckling och empowerment, medan ekonomisk utveckling främst sker på individnivå. Det är även möjligt att observera hur rörelsen kan bidra till miljömässig utveckling, även om det är tydligt att initiativet till att göra så inte alltid är av en miljörelaterad anledning.

The purpose of this case study is to examine and explore the consequences of reintegration among female ex-combatants in Sri Lanka and Nepal. DDR-programs have often been critiqued by scholars for their lack of gender perspective, consequently this research aims to understand the unique challenges and outcomes faced by women with different intersectional identities. This study uses structured, focused comparison, to systematically compare social, economic and political aspects of reintegration based on several comparing factors such as psychological health, stigmatisation, employment opportunities, education, financial support, political participation and representation. Through this methodology, and the creation of the theoretical framework based on critical feminism and the analytical tool intersectionality, the study aims to answer what differences and similarities can be found in the two countries. The findings shows that social identities such as gender, class, caste, ethnicity, age and ideology have a significant impact on female ex-combatants’ access to reintegration. Furthermore, that prior education levels of female ex-combatant have a decisive influence on the possibility of a meaningful reintegration in society.

This study investigated stakeholders’ views of multicultural policies and practices in multicultural secondary schools in Sri Lanka and a comparator school in England, in order to elicit what new insights could be gained that could lead to educational improvements in Sri Lankan schools. Specifically, students and staff in five Sinhala-medium secondary schools in the Colombo region, all with reputations for good multicultural education practice, together with local community leaders and national policy makers, were interviewed. A series of questionnaires was designed to examine a wide range of stakeholder perspectives across these five schools, using as a conceptual framework Banks’s (1986, 1989 and 2004) international work on multicultural policy and practice in schools and teacher education. A similar interview schedule and questionnaire were used to elicit views and experiences of multicultural education in a comparator school in an urban area of the East of England. There were a number of reasons for this. The modern school system of Sri Lanka had its beginnings during the British colonial administration. Now that there is peace in Sri Lanka after a long period of civil war, the government is focusing on ways to develop the curriculum to integrate multicultural education into its peace education curriculum in order to foster intercultural understandings. England has a longer tradition in multicultural education and policies in its education system. Using Banks’s work (op. cit.) for analysis, there may therefore be lessons to be drawn from the Sri Lankan schools identified as having good multicultural practice and the English experience that are of use in Sri Lanka. Major findings from this research project include the need for careful consideration of ways to foster greater multilingual competence among both teachers and students if Sri Lanka is to reach its goal of greater intercultural understandings and communication between the various ethnic groups. It seems from this study that, in Sri Lanka, whilst there were some differences in the strength of perception of different ethnic groups of students, overall they felt comfortable and safe in school, which is a testament to government efforts to achieve harmony in schools and, thus, social cohesion in society. However, some groups of students are more advantaged than others in the same schools in their access to the acquisition of languages and, therefore, access to the curriculum and to further and higher education and future enhanced life chances. The teachers acknowledged that language was a major concern in multicultural classrooms, partly because some students could not communicate effectively in Sinhala medium, and partly because they themselves were not always fluent in both national languages. Further, despite central government policy that all secondary teachers in Sri Lanka should be trained to degree level and should be qualified in their profession, the highest qualification that nearly one half possessed was A-level General Certificate of Education. All teachers in both Sri Lankan, and the English comparator, schools expressed a wish for training in multicultural practices.

With the emegence of an empire, many of the devices and instruments adopted for the governance of England, were extended beyond the seas to the colonies. One such device was royal commissions of inquiry. Royal commissions, the origins of which in England have been traced as far back as the time of the Norman Conquest, were utilised by the administration in England from time to time to investigate particular problems in colonies, and suggest ways and means of solving them. In the first empire, the American settlements received bodies of somewhat similiar nature on some occasions, but their true value was displayed only when the second empire was being founded. During the turbulent years of the French and Napoleonic wars the empire was continuously extended, but only after peace was established did it become possible for the ministers in England to take stock of the empire which had been acquired. What were the purposes of the empire, what were the nature and the conditions of the colonies conquered, in what manner should this new empire of a diverse and amorphous character be governed, were some of the numerous questions which faced them through the following years. These clearly emphasised above all the need to obtain information about the colonies. The information provided by their Governors did not prove to be adequate, and there was no possibility of officials at home acquiring the much needed information. To resolve the problem, they fell back upon the age old method: royal commissions of inquiry.

This study analyzes and maps barriers preventing Sri Lankan female workers in Export Processing Zones (EPZs) from participating in awareness raising activities by NGOs. These barriers can furthermore be discussed as preventing them from an enhanced empowerment. The gathered data is mostly based on interviews conducted during a three-week long fieldtrip in Sri Lanka. By using both a literature analysis on the field of research together with group interviews with both female EPZ workers as well as with personnel from a women’s organization in Sri Lanka the study identifies five barriers hindering the women’s participation; time and distance; lack of motivation or interest; limited knowledge of the organization; someone opposing the choice; and fear of loosing the employment. The study derives the root-causes of the barriers to the current social norms and roles, which are internalized in the young women’s mind from their background as well as through the reproduction of them in their new environment, but also to EPZs as discouraging an improvement of the women’s situation.

published_or_final_version / Comparative Asian Studies / Master / Master of Arts

published_or_final_version / English / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

No description available.