Reconciling Rebel Rule: Wartime Order and the Social Legacies of Rebel Governance in Sri Lanka

What do Tamil civilians want in order to reconcile with a victorious state, and what underlying narratives shape these demands? This article demonstrates that the social legacies of rebel governance matter for post-war reconciliation between citizens and the state. Tamils in northern Sri Lanka – regardless of past wartime governance experience – prioritise transitional justice and inclusive service delivery as signs of citizen-state reconciliation. However, those who lived under consolidated LTTE institutions during the war emphasise mutual respect through a reciprocal social contract with the state, while those who lived under Sri Lankan military control emphasise acknowledgement of past harms.