Biography
My research and teaching focuses broadly on the inter-connections of Governance, Development, Violent conflict and Peace(building). More specifically, I am interested in politics of war and peace, state building, trauma and psychosocial healing in post-war contexts, war economy, dynamics and challenges in post-war transitions, security sector reform in post-war scenarios, civil-military Relations, external interventions in fragile and conflict areas, visual peace research, nexus of media and violent conflict and gender and security.
South Asia and Sri Lanka are my main geographical areas of specialization, but I have developed thematic expertise on conflict and peace in other geographical areas as well.
I hold a PhD in Development Studies from International Institute of Social Studies (ISS), Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands, MA Degree in Conflict Transformation from Eastern Mennonite University, Virginia, USA, Graduate Certificate on Peace Research from Oslo University, Norway and BA (Hons.)in International Relations from University of Colombo, Sri Lanka.
International Institute of Social Studies
- jayasundara@iss.nl
More information
Work
- Xander Creed, Shyamika Jayasundara & SLiNK (Kelsey) Love (2025) - Taking it easy: Disrupting development, justice and reparations through black in-bodiment and creative expression in the USA - World Development, 190 - doi: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2025.106970 - [link]
- Shyamika Jayasundara (2024) - Urbanity and Human Security - [link]
- Anna Giulla, Shyamika Jayasundara-Smits & Mansoob Murshed (2024) - War Economies, Post-Conflict Transition and Human Trafficking - Journal of Human Trafficking - doi: 10.1080/23322705.2024.2423328 - [link]
- Sandunika Hasangani & Shyamika Jayasundara (2024) - A Material Inquiry into Paths of Peaceful co-Existence and Interethnic Harmony in Late Antiquity in Sri Lanka - Peace Review, 36 (1), 142-152 - doi: 10.1080/10402659.2023.2294075 - [link]
- Georgina Gomez, N.R. Garcia, Shyamika Jayasundara-Smits & L.A. Palacios-Chacon (2024) - Transformational entrepreneurship in post-conflict economies: ex-combatants doing business (as unusual) in Colombia. - doi: 10.4337/9781035310395.00031 - [link]
- Shyamika Jayasundara-Smits & DB Subedi (2024) - Authoritarian Populist Politics, Politico-Religious Extremism, and Violence Against Women in Post-War Sri Lanka. - World Affairs, 187 (2), 213-230 - doi: 10.1002/waf2.12017 - [link]
- Shyamika Jayasundara (2024) - Sri Lanka stuck in choppy political and economic waters - East Asia Forum - [link]
- Shyamika Jayasundara (2024) - Sri Lanka's Anti-drug Operation Reveals Deep Cracks - East Asia Forum - [link]
- Shyamika Jayasundara (2024) - US Congress backs diaspora-driven efforts for Tamil self-determination - East Asia Forum - [link]
- Xander Creed, Zeynep Kasli & Shyamika Jayasundara (2023) - Safe for Whom? A Human Security Perspective on Nigeria as a ‘Safe Country of Origin’ - Journal of Refugee Studies, 36 (3), 359-382 - doi: 10.1093/jrs/fead002 - [link]
- Afroza Bulbul & Shyamika Jayasundara-Smits (2023) - Subverting war narrative in the purview of gender justice: Analysing Bishkanta (2015): A Liberation War documentary from Bangladesh - Studies in South Asian Film and Media, 14 (1), 19-35 - doi: 10.1386/safm_00054_1 - [link]
- Shyamika Jayasundara (2022) - An Uneasy Hegemony: Politics of Statebuilding and Struggles for Justice in Sri Lanka - doi: 10.1017/9781009199230
- Jovana Jeremic & Shyamika Jayasundara-Smits (2022) - Long after Dayton: a journey through visual representations of war and peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina - Southeast European and Black Sea Studies, 22 (3), 335-360 - doi: 10.1080/14683857.2022.2035486 - [link]
- Shyamika Jayasundara (2022) - The Rajapakse family's tighetening grip on Sri Lanka - [link]
- Shyamika Jayasundara (2022) - Politico-religious extremism and violence against women in Sri Lanka: Extremism and gender-based violence in South Asia
- Salma Yusuf & Shyamika Jayasundara (2021) - Trends in the Judiciary Interviews with Judges Across the Globe - [link]
- Helen Hintjens, Shyamika Jayasundara & Ali Bilgic (2021) - Migration, Security and Development
- Shyamika Jayasundara - Smits (2020) - Tamil diaspora activism in the post-liberal international order: navigating politics and norms - Globalizations - doi: 10.1080/14747731.2020.1850403 - [link]
- Shyamika Jayasundara-Smits (2020) - EU and gender-security sector reform in Ukraine and Mali: a picture is worth dozens of policies! - European Security, 30 (1), 85-111 - doi: 10.1080/09662839.2020.1825218 - [link]
- Shyamika Jayasundara (23 June 2023) - 'Conflict Compounded; Implications of the war in Ukraine on global development challenges'
- Shyamika Jayasundara (13 January 2023) - Sri Lanka's disastrous 2022 ends with a silver of optimism
- Shyamika Jayasundara (20 August 2022) - Upheaval in Sri Lanka
- SMS (Shyamika) Jayasundara - Smits (29 January 2022) - The Rajapakse family's tightening grip on Sri Lanka
