"This volume is premised on the view that complex societies are not a naturally occurring phenomenon but are dynamic social arrangements which require constant re-thinking and redefinition combined with renewed cooperation in order to flourish." "Sri Lanka has suffered from decades of ethnic strife which has left in its wake a failure of governing arrangements, skewed distribution of economic benefits, and an exploitation of cultural traditions to divide people. Hence, argue the contributors to this volume, the time is now ripe for the people of Sri Lanka to consciously take up the task of building a new society."