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.
Two conceptions of Jewish identity
Rohini Hensman
Critics of religion who regard it as illusory and harmful, from Marx and his associates and followers to militant...
Undermining statutory rape protection in Sri Lanka
Kumudini Samuel and Chulani Kodikara
On 9th February, the government gazetted a Bill to amend Sections 363 and 364 of the Penal Code (Chapter 19) which...
Privatisation from within ‘Free Education’: Tuition Classes in Anuradhapura
Amali Waidyasekera
The school attendance of students facing national level examinations such as Ordinary and Advanced Level, drastically...
Zionism in Crisis after October 7? What Crisis?
Neve Gordon
Editors’ Note: The remarks below by Professor Neve Gordon were made at a teach-in on Gaza at Queen’s University,...
Boats in a Storm: Law, Migration, and Decolonization in South and Southeast Asia, 1942–1962 by Kalyani Ramnath. California: Stanford University Press, 2023, 308p.
Luc Bulten
Kalyani Ramnath’s Boats in a Storm contributes to the ever-growing body of literature using legal archives to help...
On the Edge: University Education in Sri Lanka
Kaushalya Perera
At the COP-28 Climate Change Conference in Dubai in December 2023, Ranil Wickremesinghe announced the establishment of...
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.