Full Description
In Disaster Nationalism, Vivian Y. Choi examines how the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami fostered new forms of governance and militarization during Sri Lanka's decades-long civil war that led to enduring forms of precarity and insecurity. Tracing the development of disaster management projects following the tsunami, Choi demonstrates how these projects rest on a logic that treats natural disasters and terrorism as inevitable risks in need of management. The tsunami's destruction foreclosed the possibility of political resolution to the war, as the state leveraged these projects to justify its militarized aggression in the war against the Tamil Tigers and a new construction of the Sri Lankan nation. Choi reveals how, paradoxically, state-sponsored disaster management projects-from new buffer and border zones to early warning systems-created more insecurity. Choi amplifies the experiences of those affected by the tsunami, particularly Tamil and Muslim communities. In so doing, Choi shows how life perseveres against perpetual uncertainty and danger-caused by natural disasters and state-sanctioned violence alike.
Contents
Note on Transliteration ix
Abbreviations xi
Preface: The Struggle Endures xiii
Acknowledgments xvii
Interlude 1
Introduction 3
Interlude 35
1. Emergence 37
Interlude 57
2. Anticipation 59
Interlude 77
3. Endurance 79
Interlude 101
4. Reiteration 103
Interlude 135
Postscript 137
Notes 147
References 159
Index 191
