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.
The ‘Governance of Corruption’ in Sri Lanka – An IMF-NGO-NPP Consensus
B. Skanthakumar
“Between consent and force stands corruption/fraud” ~ Antonio Gramsci IntroductionSri Lanka’s ‘National...
Horu versus Boru: The politics of the 2025 local government elections in Sri Lanka
Harindra B. Dassanayake and Rajni Gamage
In the 2025 May local government (LG) election, the National People’s Power (NPP) secured a nominal majority in 265...
Justice for Some: Law and the Question of Palestine. Noura Erakat. Stanford University Press, 2019
Kiran Grewal
Introduction A direct and consequential outcome of the past 19 months of hell experienced by the people of Gaza is...
System Stability not Change: The NPP abandons populism for liberal democracy
Pradeep Peiris
Judging by its record over the past six months, the National People’s Power (NPP) government arguably stands as one of...
Performing Sovereign Aspirations: Tamil Insurgency and Postwar Transition in Sri Lanka. Bart Klem. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2024
Sakuntala Kadirgamar
War and peace have remained unsettled business in Sri Lanka. Performing Sovereign Aspirations: Tamil Insurgency and...
Made in Sri Lanka, Taxed in America, and Failed by the IMF
Taniya Silvapulle
Introduction On 2 April 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump announced the ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs, imposing trade...
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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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.