Polity aims to advance democratic consciousness, gender equity, 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.
Victims or Saviours? Women in Climate Adapted Agriculture Projects in Sri Lanka’s Dry Zone
Nethmi Bathige
In recent years, both the government of Sri Lanka as well as national and international development organisations have...
Writing the life of author and filmmaker Hanif Kureishi: race, class and multiculturalism
Ruvani Ranasinha
"We had been devastated … in ways we didn’t understand by racism” ~ Kureishi, My Ear at His Heart (2004) In 2023, my...
Sri Lanka General Election 2024: How We See It; What We Want
Collective
In one or two words, describe your reaction to the overall picture from the general election; then go on to explain...
Reading the General Election 2024
Pasan Jayasinghe and Amali Wedagedara
The National People’s Power (NPP) has made history. With its unprecedented, record-breaking electoral victory at the...
Can the National People’s Power Consolidate its Presidential Victory in the Parliamentary Election?
Pradeep Peiris
The forthcoming parliamentary election on November 14 has attracted significant attention and raised several pertinent...
Soft Authoritarianism, Ethno-Nationalism, and the Backlash Against Women’s Rights in Europe
Shalini Randeria
This talk[1] connects several of my scholarly interests over the last decades in an anthropology of the state, legal...
Current Issue
Vol. 14 No. 1 (January – June 2026). 134 pages. Gananath Obeyesekere Memorial. NPP and Neutrality. Iran Solidarity. Justice for Easter Sunday. Chemmani. Cyclone Ditwah. Flood Relief. Microfinance Bill. Peasant Politics. Lunar Calendar. Partitions. Women’s Health. Malaiyaha History. Diasporic memory. Mannar’s ecology. Aloysius Peiris SJ. Cover image Ranjini Obeyesekere. LKR1000 from the Social Scientists’ Association or Barefoot or SLBOOKS.lk.
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.
