A prominent academic argues that anthropology should play a central role in addressing Sri Lanka's interconnected crises of politics, economy, and social cohesion, moving beyond reliance on technical expertise alone.
Sri Lanka faces overlapping crises—political upheaval, economic strain, social fragmentation, and the legacy of a three-decade civil war—that cannot be solved through technical expertise alone, according to Professor M. W. Amarasiri de Silva. The scholar contends that the country's most urgent problems are fundamentally human in nature, involving identity, memory, belief, and how communities interpret their world. Addressing these requires anthropology, a discipline that listens, observes, and interprets before prescribing solutions.
Professor de Silva highlights a successful partnership between Sri Lankan and Swedish universities that demonstrates anthropology's potential. The University of Peradeniya and University of Jaffna established a doctoral scholarship programme for faculty members to pursue PhDs in conflict and development studies at the University of Gothenburg. The resulting research has produced comprehensive dissertations on post-conflict reconciliation, displacement, psychosocial rehabilitation of war-affected children, and women's roles during armed conflict, enriching regional sociological literature. However, the scholar notes that beyond this initiative, targeted research programmes addressing specific social problems remain limited in Sri Lankan universities.
The scholar identifies several critical areas where anthropological insight could strengthen national responses. Post-conflict reconciliation remains incomplete more than a decade after the civil war's end, yet approaches have been largely top-down and disconnected from community experiences. Anthropologists could document local narratives, facilitate dialogue, and design culturally sensitive programmes that address grief and healing. Similarly, political behaviour in Sri Lanka is shaped by patronage networks, kinship ties, and symbolic performances that technical analysis often overlooks. Anthropological understanding of these dynamics could improve policy communication and reduce political manipulation, particularly in an era of misinformation.
Economic interventions, environmental conservation, public health initiatives, and education reform all require cultural grounding that technical approaches frequently lack, de Silva argues. He points to international examples, particularly community-based learning models in the United States, where students engage with grassroots organizations alongside theoretical study. To realize anthropology's potential, Sri Lanka must strengthen university programmes, create government positions for anthropologists, integrate the discipline into NGO work, and encourage public engagement by scholars. The scholar emphasizes that anthropology offers not merely academic insight but a practical tool for building more humane, inclusive solutions grounded in lived experience and cultural respect.
