Here are (bilingual) details (English below) for the Stockholm launch of my new book, which will be held at Södra Teatern on Thursday 19 November.
Further event info at: http://sodrateatern.com/bokrelease-to-end-a-civil-war/
Den 28e okt i London lanseras min nya bok To End A Civil War: Norway’s Peace Engagement in Sri Lanka utgiven av brittiska förlaget Hurst.
I samband med bokens release i London och Oslo (2e nov) anordnas även på Södra Teatern i Stockholm på torsdag 19 nov ett panelsamtal om omvärldens försök att mäkla fred i Sri Lanka. (Mer information om bokens innehåll finns nedan):
I panelen medverkar:
– Vidar Helgesen, minister i den nuvarande norska regeringen och centralfigur i den norska medlingsförsöket i Sri Lanka.
– Prof. Kristine Höglund från Uppsala Universitets Freds- och konfliktsforsknings insi-titut, specialiserad på Sri Lanka sedan många år
– Mark Salter, forskare, journalist och bokens författare som besökt Sri Lanka regel-bundet sedan 2002
– Som moderator har vi Dan Smith, nytillträdd chef på SIPRI (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute) och en välkänd forskare inom freds- och konfliktsvetenskap.
Temat: ‘Tredje parts/externa förmedlingsförsök i Sri Lanka: lärodom för det internationella samfundet – och för Sri Lanka‘
Format: efter inträdande inlägg från alla panelmedlemmar öppnas diskussion upp för allmänheten
Språk: engelska (den som vill pratar svenska får gärna göra det, översättning ordnas!)
Lokal: Södra Teaterns bar. Våning 1
Tid: 17.30 – 19.00
Datum: torsdag 19:e november
Boken kommer att finnas till försäljning på eventet.
Mer info: www.marksalter.org och www.sodrateatern.com
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On 28 October my new book To End A Civil War: Norway’s Peace Engagement in Sri Lanka (Hurst) is being launched in London. In tandem with the launches in London and Oslo (2 November), an event is being held at Södra Teatern, Stockholm on Thursday 19 November. It will take the form of a panel discussion on the international community’s efforts to facilitate peace in Sri Lanka. (More on the book below)
Panel members:
– Vidar Helgesen, senior minister in the present Norwegian government and a central figure in Norway’s peace facilitation efforts in Sri Lanka.
– Professor Kristine Höglund, Uppsala University Peace & Conflict Department and a long-standing specialist on the Sri Lanka conflict.
– Mark Salter, researcher, journalist and author who has visited Sri Lanka regularly since 2002
– The panel moderator is Dan Smith, recently appointed Director of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), and a well-known and widely-respected researcher in the peace and conflict areas.
Theme: Third party/external peace facilitation efforts in Sri Lanka: lessons learned for the international community – and Sri Lanka
Format: Following opening interventions from the panellists a (moderated) public discussion will be opened up
Language: English (Swedish interventions OK – consecutive translation will be provided)
Where: Södra Teatern’s main Bar, on the 1st Floor
Time: 17.30 – 19.00
The book will be on sale at the event via The English Bookshop www.bookshop.se
Further launch info: www.marksalter.org and www.sodrateatern.com
About the book:
Between 1983 and 2009 the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil Tiger guerillas engaged in a bitter civil war, with the Tigers’ goal of an independent Tamil polity the key issue of contention.
The conflict’s end came in May 2009 with the Tigers’crushing defeat at the hands of the Sri Lankan army. Prior to this grim finale, however, for some time there had been hope for a peaceful end to the conflict. Starting with a ceasefire agreement in early 2002, for almost five years a series of Norwegian-mediated peace talks between the two sides took place in locations ranging from Thailand and Japan to Norway, Germany and Switzerland.
This book tells the story of how the process of trying to bring peace to Sri Lanka unfolded. In particular it tells the story of how a faraway European nation – Norway – came to play a central role in efforts to end the conflict, and what its small, dedicated team of mediators did in their untiring efforts to reach what ultimately proved the elusive goal of a negotiated peace.
While some aspects of Norway’s role have been documented elsewhere, the deeper story of that involvement has not yet been told. This book tells that story. In the process it fills a critical gap in our understanding of the Sri Lankan conflict, and highlights lessons the Norwegian mediation effort may offer for internationally-supported attempts to end conflicts elsewhere.
