Role of Law in Shaping Ethnic Identity and Conflict

这个项目的重点是法律在形成的历史作用 人们的政治和社会身份（例如，的公民 在一个多民族国家中， 尤其是斯里兰卡。 它假定这样的身份 不能想当然 相反，它们是在 在这一历史进程中，法律和法律的 系统发挥作用。 此外，该项目的重点是如何法律，作为一个 在塑造身份的关键力量，影响种族冲突， 这个多民族国家。 利用与习惯法和 斯里兰卡人民所经历的法律的制度的复杂性， 这项研究提供了一个独特的历史视角， 当地和跨国力量的结合， 这个民族国家的冲突。 此外，这一历史分析 为引入一般理论提供了基础 促进理解种族冲突的视角， 关于改变法律的秩序所起的间接作用。 最后， 研究表明，全球社会法律现象的影响 国家建设有历史先例，因此， 在东欧和其他地方的当代事件中独一无二。

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.