Editorial

The Social Sciences carry some degree of responsibility in influencing the direction a society may move. One may even call the responsibility a burden. A journal of the Social Sciences does not merely chronicle, observe or analyse, it engages with the crucial questions facing society. It, therefore, provides real insight that can be a catalyst for real change in society. IJESS, hopes to be a source of scholarship and insight that can inform our understanding of society and inspire change.  

Issues related to ethnicity are vitally important, not just in post-war Sri Lanka, where the ethnic issues related to the conflict holds a prominent place in political debate and academic analysis, but also in many other parts of the world.  However, there are other significant aspects of society that require academic research, analysis and discussion; without these our understanding will be limited, and our influence reduced. The scope of IJESS has therefore widened to include not just ethnicity but all of society. While the commitment to the study of ethnicity remains, the Journal encourages contributions on the full spectrum of social dynamics and intends fostering research with an interdisciplinary focus.

IJESS has also made a move towards a peer-review process. The review panel of reputed scholars—local and international—which the Journal is building up will raise the profile of the Journal globally, so that it can be the international journal it declares itself to be. Such peer-review ensures that our articles will be assessed by those with expertise in the relevant fields of research, and assures the reliability and quality of the research we present to our readers.

As the title indicates, the scope of IJESS includes international scholarly research, widening the geographical range of contributors, perspectives, and subject matter. In this issue the articles from national and international contributors focus on four different nations, and while three of the articles focus on issues related to conflict and war, one focuses instead on an industry that affects two of the nations.

 Gananath Obeyesekere’s article is timely, in the context of a post-war Sri Lanka, as it critiques the nature of cycles of revenge and violence and examines a way in which these cycles can be interrupted through gestures of trust. Andrew Ward’s interdisciplinary examination focuses on a conflict-ridden Afghanistan, suggesting a development programme that will permit an increase in civil liberties and a growth in industry.  An important fallout of war—the destruction of historical and cultural heritages of nations—is the focus of Nancy Wilkie’s article, which examines the devastation occurring in Iraq during the wars of 1990 and 2003. Finally, Kalyan Das’ article, arising out of research carried out in India and Sri Lanka, and of relevance to both nations, examines the nature of Tea Smallholdings, and the value of these alternative forms for the tea industry.

Scholarship is carried out for various reasons and with diverse motives. The highest of these, I believe, are the hope of contributing to our understanding of the world and the intention of encouraging further dialogue, with an ultimate hope of change. Jonathan Swift’s satire of society in Gulliver’s Travels, first published in 1726, does not exclude academic research. The satire sustains its potency through the centuries and includes a description of hopelessly impractical research to extract sunbeams from cucumbers, to be sealed in phials for later use in the Governor’s gardens. It hardly needs to be stated that the vision of IJESS rests far from ambitions and research of this nature. We want, above all, to be engaged, relevant and useful.  Our vision for IJESS is that it may sow seeds of academic thought and blow winds of change through the structures of society.