Revitalising hydraulic civilisation: Crisis and state power in post-conflict Sri Lanka

This thesis considers state and farmer responses to a drought that unfolded during Sri Lanka's post-war reconstruction. President Sirisena's approach to reconstruction was to revitalise hydraulic civilisation. As the drought progressed, antagonisms between farmers and government intensified, threatening to derail Sirisena's project. The pursuant crisis revealed the ongoing tension between democratisation and centralisation in Sri Lanka.