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Weerawardhana

Chaminda Weerawardhana (DEUG, Licence, Master 1, Master 2 Recherche – Hons)

cweerawardhana02@qub.ac.uk

Working title of thesis:

Third party ‘good offices’, intrastate conflict regulation and cross case applicability? Northern Ireland and Sri Lanka in perspective

Brief summary:

My doctoral research focuses on the impact of third party good offices on intrastate conflict regulation processes. The extent to which third parties can contribute constructively in intrastate conflicts constitutes a key concern of the international community, supranational bodies and governments dealing with violent conflicts taking place in their states. My case studies include Northern Ireland and Sri Lanka, two cases where moves towards conflict regulation have taken diametrically opposed turns. The very contrasts that characterize the two cases constitute a fertile ground to develop my doctoral research within a vibrantly comparative framework. The thesis explores and questions the applicability of third party good offices as a key conflict regulation mechanism. Given the nature of the case studies in question, a prominent research question that emerges and will be dealt with throughout the thesis is that of the ‘exportability’ of aspects of a given peacemaking experience in other conflict-torn contexts. 

Research interests:

My general research interests encompass comparative peace research, international diplomacy and mediation, EU foreign policy, Northern Ireland Studies, Sri Lanka and South Asia Studies, nationalism(s) and self-determination, ethnic minority rights, electoral politics and constitutional reform.

Supervisors:

Professor Adrian Guelke and Professor The Lord Bew of Donegore