Polity aims to advance democratic consciousness, gender equality, state reform, and social change in Sri Lanka, while interested in South Asia and the World.
As its predecessor Pravada (1991-2002), Polity is published by the Social Scientists’ Association in Colombo, with critical content on politics, political economy, history, women, ethnicity, sexualities, religion, labour studies, agrarian relations, nationalisms, violence, ecology, and much more.
Am I A Settler Too? Reflections of a Sinhalese from Sri Lanka after Gaza
Nalin Jayathunga
Mapping temporal and spatial lines between the past and the present, this reflection draws parallels between the...
James Brow, Anuradhapura 1984, and the Question of Agrarian Change in Sri Lanka
Jonathan Spencer
James Brow was a British anthropologist who drifted from the nascent counter-culture of early 1960s London, to the...
Sacrificing Accountability to Save the Official Narrative: The UK’s Legacy Act of 2023 and Parallels in Sri Lanka
Daniel Holder
In September 2023, the UK parliament passed The Northern Ireland Troubles (Reconciliation and Legacy) Act entrenching...
Understanding Fascism: Writings on Caste, Class & The State by K. Balagopal. Curated and Introduced by V. Geetha. Hyderabad: South Side Books, 2023, 241p.
Jairus Banaji
K.Balagopal was a civil rights activist and left-wing intellectual who was mainly active in Andhra Pradesh from the...
Shyam Selvadurai’s Mansions of the Moon: A Lankan Review
Crystal Baines
The question of ‘woman’ in Buddhism has always rested on a paradox. On the one hand is the misogyny couched in the...
“Put people at the centre of plans for socio-economic recovery and advancement”: No to IMF’s cosmetic civil society consultations!
68 Civil Society Organisations and Trade Unions
The IMF team is in Colombo for the Second Review of the ongoing Extended Fund Facility (EFF) loan agreement with Sri...
Current Issue
Out Now! Vol. 13 No. 2 (July – December 2025). 148 pages. #SriLanka. Politics. Cyclone Ditwah. Ecology. Feminism. Education. Justice. Domestic Violence Act. History. Culture. Work. Labour. Books. Cover Picture Sakuna M. Gamage. LKR1000 from the Social Scientists’ Association or Barefoot or SLBOOKS.lk.
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Archive
Pravada (1991-2002) and Polity (2003-) back issues available here.
Social Scientists’ Association
The Social Scientists’ Association (SSA) was founded in 1977, at a turning point in Sri Lankan politics, economy, and society, marked by among other aspects: the ‘open economy’ market reforms; deepening ethnic conflict; and the growing concentration of executive power. Its initiators were academics from public universities, seeking an autonomous space to grapple with these shifts; and to promote progressive political, economic, and social change.