Role of Law in Shaping Ethnic Identity and Conflict

该项目侧重于法律在形成多族裔社会，特别是斯里兰卡的多民族社会中人民的政治和社会特性(例如，某一民族国家的公民；某一族裔群体的成员)方面的历史作用。它认为，这种身份不能被认为是理所当然的。相反，它们是在一个历史过程中构建的，在这个过程中，法律和法律制度发挥了作用。此外，该项目还侧重于法律作为塑造身份的关键力量如何影响这个多民族国家的种族冲突。根据与习惯法和斯里兰卡人民经历的复杂法律制度有关的档案记录，这项研究提供了一个独特的历史视角，说明在这个民族国家引发种族冲突的当地和跨国力量是如何结合在一起的。此外，这一历史分析为从一般理论角度推进对族裔冲突的理解提供了基础，重点是不断变化的法律秩序所起的间接作用。最后，研究表明，全球社会法律现象对国家建设的影响是有历史先例的，因此，并不是东欧和其他地方当代事件所独有的。

This project focuses on the historical role of law in the formation of peoples' political and social identities (e.g., citizens of a given nation-state; members of an ethnic group) in a multi-ethnic society, particularly Sri Lanka. It posits that such identities cannot be taken for granted. Rather, they are constructed in the course of a historical process and in that process, law and legal systems play a part. Also, the project focuses on how law, as a crucial force in shaping identities, influences ethnic conflict in this multi-ethnic state. Drawing on archival records related to customary law and the complexity of legal systems experienced by the people of Sri Lanka, the study provides a unique historical perspective of the combination of local and transnational forces triggering ethnic conflict in this nation-state. Further, this historical analysis provides the basis for introducing a general theoretical perspective for advancing understanding ethnic conflict, focusing on the indirect role played by changing legal orders. Finally, the study shows that the influence of global sociolegal phenomena on nation building has historical antecedents and therefore, is not unique to contemporary events in Eastern Europe and elsewhere.