EDIRIPPULIGE, Sisira
Kobe Gakuin University,
Department of International Relations,
Ikawadani-Cho, Nishi-Ku, Kobe 651 2180, Japan
Tel: 81-78-974 1551
drsisira@yahoo.com.au


ACADEMIC QUALIFICATIONS

2001

  • Ph D in Political Studies. Department of Political Studies, The University of Auckland. Thesis title: "Ethnic Conflict in Sri Lanka: Obstacles to the Peace Process".


    • 1991

  • Ph D in Geography (Development Studies). The Institute of Geography, The National Academy of Sciences, Russia, Moscow. Thesis title: "Poverty, Unemployment and Development Policies in the Third World with special emphasis on Sri Lanka".

    1986

  • M Sc in Geography. The Moscow State University. The USSR. Thesis title: "Forest and Agricultural Land Use in Sri Lanka".

    WORK EXPERIENCE

  • From April 2003:    Lecturer, Department of International Relations, Faculty of Law, Kobe Gakuin University, Japan. Courses taught: International Relations Theory, Politics of South Asia, and Russia.

  • December 2000 - December 2002 Visiting Research Fellow, Department of International Relations, Faculty of Law, Kobe Gakuin University, Japan. Full time Researcher, undertaking a postdoctoral fellowship granted by the Japan Society for Promotion of Science (JSPS).

  • July 1997 - December 2000:  Assistant Lecturer, Department of Political Studies, The University of Auckland. Courses taught: Ethnic Conflicts and International Security, and Russian Politics.

  • February 1994 - May 1995:  Research Fellow, The Center for Russian Studies, The University of Cape Town, South Africa.

  • December 1991 - January 1993:  Research and Training Officer, Agrarian Research and Training Institute, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Duties included: Conducting research and training programs and extensive liaison and consultation with the Sri Lankan government and the NGO's in community development activities, rural development and poverty alleviation.

  • September 1986 - September 1991:  Research Associate, The Research Center for Developing Economies, The Institute of Geography, the National Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia. Teaching: courses on Political and Economic Geography, and Development Studies at undergraduate and graduate level. Research: Project on the political and economic transformations in Central Asia, Governance and Development in the Third World.



    CURRENT AREAS OF RESEARCH AND TEACHING

    Ethnic Conflicts and International Security, Development Democratization and Conflict Resolution, Political Violence, Terrorism and Counter-terrorism, International Relations Theory, Politics of South Asia, Russia and the former Soviet States, Arms Control and Nonproliferation Regimes.

    Research Involvement

    · Doctoral research on Sri Lankan Ethnic Conflict and the Peace Process. Monograph- 'Sri Lanka's Twisted Path to Peace: some domestic and international obstacles to the peace process'.

  • I am currently undertaking a research on 'Uneven Democratic Development in South Asia' and I intend to publish a book on the subject.

  • I completed a 2year project, funded by The Japan Society for Promotion of Science (JSPS) on 'International Response to the South Asian Nuclear Proliferation'.

  • I am a collaborator of the international project 'The Cross-cultural Variations in Distributive Justice Perception' (CVDJP) in which academics from 25 countries are currently engaged.

  • I have been involved in a 5year project undertaken by the Asia Pacific Research Center (APRC) at Kobe Gakuin University on Asian Values.

  • Research on the 'Post-conflict Peace Building in Sri Lanka: Dynamics of Economic Development in Reconciliation Process' The University of Auckland.

  • 'The Role of Civil Society in the Governance and Peace Building'. The University of Auckland.

  • 'Economic Development in the Governance and Conflict Transformation'. The Asia Pacific Research Center, Kobe Gakuin University, Japan.

  • 'Human Security and Conflict Resolution', The Asia Pacific Research Center, Kobe Gakuin University, Japan.

  • 'Social Capital and Development in Sri Lanka', The Asia Pacific Research Center, Kobe Gakuin University, Japan.

  • 'Promotion of Social Justice and Empowerment of Communities as a means of Conflict Resolution', The Agrarian Research and Training Institute, Colombo, Sri Lanka.

  • 'Decentralization and Local Government in Conflict Management and Institutional Design', The Agrarian Research and Training Institute, Colombo, Sri Lanka.

  • 'Development, Sustainability and Local Economic Development: Impact on Local Autonomy, Policy making and Economic Development'. The Agrarian Research and Training Institute, Colombo, Sri Lanka.


    ACADEMIC HONORS

  • 2000 - 2002: Postdoctoral Fellowship offered by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS).

  • 1997 - 1998:  PACDAC/PADET Scholarship for Ph D Research, offered by the Peace and Disarmament Education Trust and Public Advisory Committee on Disarmament and Arms Control, Department of Internal Affairs, New Zealand.

  • 1986 - 1990:  Post Graduate Scholarship, offered by the Institute of Geography, National Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia.

  • 1980 - 1986:  State Scholarship for Higher Education, offered by the Sri Lankan Government, Colombo.


    SPECIALIZED SKILLS

  • specialist skills in research, information processing and problem solving

  • advanced analytical skills and writing abilities

  • experience in working as a team member

  • operating knowledge of Microsoft Office software packages

  • excellent communication and negotiation skills

  • languages proficiency: English, Russian, Sinhalese, Japanese


    RECENT PUBLICATIONS

    Books

  • "Sri Lanka's Twisted Path to Peace: some domestic and international obstacles to the peace process', Resource Management Foundation, Colombo, Sri Lanka, 2004.

    Book Chapters

  • "Forgotten War in South Asia: Sri Lanka's Ethnic Conflict and Controversies of International Response", Chapter in Nuclear Proliferation and Conflict Escalation in South Asia, ed. Rouben Azizian, Center for Strategic Studies, Wellington, 2001, pp. 105-115.

  • "Politics of tropical plantation economy: Sri Lankan experience", Chapter in Land Use in Developing Countries, (in Russian) Eds. B.A. Pulyarkin and Y.C. Sergeeva, Nauka, Moscow, 1995, pp. 88-96.

    Journal Articles

  • "Sri Lanka's deadlocked peace-process: An alternative explanation to the current stalemate', Kobe Gakuin University Law Journal, forthcoming.

  • "Restoring Iraq: The Japanese Approach", New Zealand International Review, Vol. XXVIII, No. 5, September/October 2003. pp. 12-16.

  • "The North Korean Threat: Tokyo's Awkward Dilemmas ", New Zealand International Review, Vol. XXVIII, No, 4, July/August 2003, pp. 14-18.

  • "Japan's Nonproliferation Diplomacy in Transition: Consequences for South Asia", Journal of South Asian Studies, Rajastan University, Jaipur, India, (accepted for publication).

  • "Comparative Study of Japan and New Zealand's Response to the Nuclear Proliferation in South Asia", Co-author Yujiro Iwamoto, Kobe Gakuin University Law Journal, Vol. 32, No. 2, November 2002, pp. 683-763.

  • "Japan's New Role in Peace Building: The Sri Lankan Experience", Asia Pacific, The Newsletter of the Asia-Pacific Research Center, Kobe Gakuin University, Kobe, Vol. 2, No, 2 November 2003.

  • "Has Nonproliferation been Hijacked by Terrorism?", Asia Pacific, The Newsletter of the Asia-Pacific Research Center, Kobe Gakuin University, Kobe, Vol. 1, No. 1, November 2002.

  • "Sri Lanka's Fragile Peace Process", New Zealand International Review, Vol. XXVII, No. 5, September/October 2002, pp. 10-14.

  • "Japan's Response to the War against Terrorism", Co-author Yujiro Iwamoto, New Zealand International Review, Vol. XXVII, No. 2, March/April 2002, pp. 9-13.

  • "The Koizumi Phenomenon: Has the Japanese Perestroika begun?", New Zealand International Review, Vol. XXVI, No. 5, September/October 2001, pp. 23-27.

    Relevant electronic media and newspaper articles

  • "US Policy on Sri Lanka's Peace Process", Asia Times Online, April 17, 2003, http://www.atimes.com

  • "Japan's Role in Sri Lanka's Peace Process", Asia Times Online, March 19, 2003, http://www.atimes.com

  • "Firm Resolve Propels Sri Lankan Peace Aims", The Japan Times, April 18, 2003.

  • "British Bill puts Tamil Tigers on Notice", The Japan Times, February 26, 2001.


    INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES AND GUEST LECTURES

  • "Democratic Consolidation in South Asia and Asian Values", International Conference on "Democratisation and Asian Values in the International Society of the 21th Century", Sungkyungkwan University, Seoul, South Korea, 15-17 September, 2003.

  • "The Role of Diaspora Communities in the Ethnic Conflict: Sri Lankan Experience", Guest speaker at the Department International Relations, Kobe National University, Kobe Japan, March 2003.

  • Participation in the World Water Conference in Kyoto, Japan, 16-23 March 2003.

  • Participation in the International Conference on Asian Values organized by Asia Pacific Research Center, Kobe Gakuin University, Kobe, Japan, October 2002.

  • "Challenges to National Integration in South Asia", Guest Lecture, The University of Tokyo, June 2002.

  • "Ethno-terrorism in South Asia: Challenges to Regional and Global Stability", Guest Lecture at the National Institute of Defense Studies, Tokyo, April 2001.

  • "Changing Nature of the Small Wars", Guest Lecture at Wasada University, Tokyo. January 2001.

  • "Escalation of Ethnic Conflict and the Soaring War Budget in Sri Lanka". Paper presented at the International Conference: Nuclear Proliferation and Conflict Escalation in South Asia: Implications for Global Arms Control and Regional Security. Auckland, March 2000.

  • "Inter-Ethnic Relations in Transition: the Sri Lankan Community New Zealand" Guest speaker at the 7th International Conference on Sri Lankan Studies. Canberra, Australia. December 1999.

  • "The Changing Nature of Small Wars: the Sri Lankan Experience". Guest speaker at the 2nd Annual International Conference on Coalitions and Conflicts, and the Transformation of Warfare. Hosted by the New Zealand Military Studies Institute and Massey University, Defense and Strategic Studies Program, Palmerston North, August 1999.


    MEMBERSHIPS AND VOLUNTEER SERVICES

  • Member of the Australian Studies Association of Japan, Tokyo, Japan.

  • Member of the Japanese Association for South Asian Studies, Japan.

  • Member of the Japan Association of International Relations, Tokyo, Japan.

  • Member of the Asia Pacific Research Center, Kobe Gakuin University, Kobe, Japan.

  • Member of the Editorial Committee, Asia Pacific Research Center Newsletter, Kobe Gakuin University, Kobe, Japan.

  • 2002 December - Member of the organizing committee of the international symposium and workshop on 'Asian Values in the International Society of the 21 st Century, Kobe Gakuin University, Kobe, Japan.

  • 2000 August - Coordinator of a conference on Nuclear Proliferation and Conflict Escalation in South Asia: Implications for Global Arms Control and Regional Security, The University of Auckland, New Zealand.

  • January 1998 - 2000: Member of the Auckland Branch Executive Committee of the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs, New Zealand.