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.
“We condemn the violent assault on peaceful protestors”
Academics Abroad
We, the undersigned academics who work on Sri Lanka and South Asia more broadly, fully condemn the violent assault on...
‘Weeks when decades happen’
B. Skanthakumar
“There are decades where nothing happens, and there are weeks where decades happen”, as Lenin never actually said. The...
Ranil Wickremesinghe’s election: Results and Prospects for Democratic Revival in Sri Lanka
Devaka Gunawardena
Ranil Wickremesinghe’s ascent to the Executive Presidency represents a system in utter decay. But the unsteady...
The Executive Presidency must go!
The July 9th uprising is a revolutionary moment. The people have spoken, in their millions, in the midst of a grave...
The Solution to the Current Crisis is to Establish a Government Conscious of Workers’ and Farmers’ Rights
Ceylon Plantation Workers’ (‘Red Flag’) Union
[i]The Sri Lankan nation is facing the worst financial, economic, and socio-political crisis in 74 years since...
What Does Increasing the Participation of Women in the Economy Mean?
Devaka Gunawardena
Experts keen to endorse the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) tentative programme for Sri Lanka have attempted to...
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.
