Buddhist Majoritarianism and Ethnocracy in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Majoritarianism rarely, if ever, accompanies good governance, and Sri Lanka is a case in point. Unwilling to build on a history of pluralism, the island’s post-independence elites manipulated ethnoreligious fissures for political gain. Besides leading to a civil war that lasted nearly three decades, it has also unleashed violence on Muslims and Christians even as the island has consolidated its status as a Sinhalese Buddhist ethnocracy. The ensuing political Buddhism has compromised Buddhism and democracy and placed the country on a militarised and authoritarian trajectory.