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Military values/virtues are a subset of ethical values. The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of military virtues on job performance, either directly, or indirectly through mediation by, loyalty, patience, respect, employee engagement, job performance, military ethics, courage, self-discipline, caring, military virtue, Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) employee engagement.

Military virtues were conceptualized as a collective construct, consisting of loyalty, courage, patience, respect, self-discipline and caring. Using a sample of 254 military officers in the SLAF, the authors measured the effect of military virtues on job performance. The first model was a direct measurement of the influence of military virtues on job performance. The second model measured the influence of military virtues on employee engagement, followed by measurement of the influence of employee engagement on job performance. Structural equation modeling was used in data analysis.

Both direct effects and mediated effects of military virtues on job performance were significant. However, the direct effect was stronger, suggesting that military virtues in and of themselves resulted in superior performance, more effectively, than by first increasing employee engagement with the task or the organization.

This may be an initial empirical examination of the effects of military virtues on job performance.

The political crisis related to two main factors internal to the public revenue system, namely financial markets and the commercialisation of the state, and three related external factors, pertaining to the pandemic, popular discontent and inequality. The emphasis on financial markets since the mid-1990s expanded the commercialisation of the state while neglecting public accountability and government oversight. The efforts to shore up public finances through the tax system is increasingly undermined by the global tax architecture, enabling financial secrecy and illicit financial flows.

The pandemic revealed the significance of women’s work, paid as well as unpaid care work. The pandemic also exposed the limitations of a domestic economy, based on export-oriented development, over-reliant on tourism and remittances from migrant workers. Combining with the on-going dengue epidemic, the pandemic highlighted the urgency of climate adaptation. Meanwhile, the popular discontent conveyed an accumulation of grievances linked with cultural discrimination, political misrepresentation as well as economic maldistribution. The participation of new middle-class segments in the protests foregrounded new tendencies significant for strengthening the labour movement as well as working-class parties in their demands for redistribution, reframing democracy as well as citizenship.

This chapter presents a critique of the so-called peace process through military action within the Sri Lankan ethnic conflict. There is a need to study this problem from the psychological, developmental, and humanitarian point of view. This chapter analyses the deep-rooted seeds of the problem, its historical background, its various domestic and international angles and perceptions, and the international angles as well as regional implications of the Sri Lankan Tamil insurgency. The nature of the problem, the effect of ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka on regional security, and the militarily remedization of the problem by Sri Lankan government and its result are focused on here.

Finally, the study identifies the contemporary role of diaspora communities as a severe hindrance to a lasting peace in the country. Thus, the analysis concludes that lasting peace in the island is possible only through the promotion of a genuine liberal democracy, from both within and without. Suggestions for future peace, stability, and development have been put forward.

Democratic renewal in Sri Lanka as well as a cross the Global South depends on strengthening democratic social movements within varieties of patrimonial capitalism. Patrimonial capitalism, emphasising patron–client relations, coincide with weakening democratic institutional cultures and practices. The dominant corruption/anti-corruption narrative is bracketed with elite class strategies aimed at negotiating a ‘managed corruption’. The realm of representative politics creating consent for patrimonial capitalism is shaped by: ethnic and class relations; the weakening of working-class parties; patriarchal cultures within parties; links with criminal networks; opaque finances and the integration of mainstream media with party patronage.

Democratising the realm of representative politics points towards democratic social movements. The internal dynamics of social movements, their relationships with political parties and collective learning are significant factors that shapes the strategic orientation of social movements. State repression of social movements highlights the need for demilitarisation and the abolition of prisons. The global sense of this local struggle relates to transforming financial markets and platform economies towards notions of financial and digital commons. The integration of different realms of politics, such as representative, movement, life and emancipatory politics, is vital for reinforcing solidarity as the basis for counter-hegemonic struggles.

This paper investigates the technique of benchmarking to improve the quality of the public procurement process and discusses the importance of benchmarking to overcome perceived weaknesses with these processes. This is followed by a case study of Sri‐Lanka, exploring the difficulties faced by public sector employees in separating the daily business of government from the political influences of its elected leaders.

Initially the literature review was used to examine the key principles of government procurement and how they could be benchmarked. This formed the theoretical base for the discussion. The case study of Sri‐Lanka has been used very effectively to discuss the experiences of developing countries.

It is revealed that reform solutions within government procurement systems must include measures that address issues of accountability, transparency, value for money, a professional work force and ethics.

The major limitation of this study is that it relies solely only on the experience of Sri‐Lanka. Perhaps including the experiences of other developing countries such as India, Bangladesh and Indonesia could increase the transference of findings of Sri‐Lanka to these countries as well.

Poor procurement practices hinder sustainable development and negatively impact upon economic growth. Therefore, developing countries need to recognise the importance of the technique of benchmarking to improve the public procurement process.

Provides an effective framework to public sector employees in developing countries to benchmark and overcome weaknesses in the public procurement process.

The economic effects of ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka are multifarious. A discussion of the economic effects of ethnic conflict could encompass the opportunity cost of the war (i.e., the foregone income due to the war at micro- and macro-levels), the economic impact of the military expenditures (on both sides of the war), financing mechanisms (both national and international) of the rebel movement, and the impact of economic sanctions on rebel territory. It should be noted that the economic effects of ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka is a relatively under-researched area (Arunatilake, Jayasuriya, & Kelegama, 2000; Goonetileke, 1998; Grobar & Gnanaselvam, 1993; Gunatilleke et al., 2001; Kelegama, 1999; O’Sullivan, 1994, 1997, 2001; Rankaduwa & Cooray, 1999; Ravano, 2001; Richardson & de Samarasinghe, 1991; Ross & Samaranayake, 1986; Seabright, 1986).

The Rajapaksa regime over the 2005–2022 period promoted a national-popular project based on a militarised Sinhala-Buddhist nationalism promoting a market-driven rentier economy. It illustrated a form of patrimonial capitalism undermining public accountability and the efficacy of the state bureaucracy. This popular-national project was dependent on strengthening ties with China while distancing relations with India and the Global North (USA and the EU). The ways in which the external relations were coordinated reinforced discrimination against Tamil and Muslim communities, while disregarding their demands for justice and reparations. The increasing integration of the economy with financial markets, driven by the Central Bank, amplified the commercialisation of the state, restraining public revenues and state oversight. Meanwhile, the militarisation of the state involved the commercialisation of the military, opaque military budgets and violent repression of protests. The Rajapaksa regime, which enabled a minority-privileged (leisure) class to culturally flourish in regulated safe spaces, also instigated multiple protests from below demanding democracy as well as justice.

It is no surprise that garbage is not garbage for some. It is money. This is why garbage has been overestimated to a point that money allocated for waste-to-energy (WtE) projects feed individual pockets. Many countries have already adapted WtE as a successful solution for both energy and waste crisis. Although in Sri Lanka six WtE projects were promised, the government abruptly decided that it would not have any more projects other than the two plants that were under construction. The purpose of this paper is to analyse barriers to the implementation of WtE projects in Sri Lanka.

An exploratory case study was selected as the research strategy to achieve the research aim. In total, two WtE megaprojects, which have been initiated implementation in Sri Lanka, were used as cases. A total of 12 semi-structured interviews with four personnel from each case and four government officials were used as the data collection technique. Data analysis was carried out using code-based content analysis. The barriers were extracted through analysis of case findings using an abductive analysis. The strategies to mitigate identified barriers were formulated based on attributes highlighted through case study findings and further validated through the opinions of three experts.

Barriers were analysed using the PESTEL framework to get ample insight into barriers that impact on the implementation of WtE projects in Sri Lanka. Less support from the government due to their less awareness on WtE, high investment and operational cost, lack of expert knowledge on WtE technologies in Sri Lanka, absence of a proper regulatory framework for implementation WtE technologies, lengthy process and delay in getting approvals from government process, poor attitudes of public and their protests due to the less awareness on WtE are the foremost barriers identified in this study. Further, strategies were proposed based on the empirical research findings to overcome barriers to facilitate the successful implementation of WtE projects in Sri Lanka.

So far only two WtE megaprojects have been initiated the implementation in Sri Lanka. Therefore, the scope of the study was limited only to those projects. Moreover, the type of waste considered in this study is municipal solid waste (MSW), which has become a bigger problem in Sri Lanka.

The current study unveils an analysis of barriers for implementation of WtE projects in Sri Lanka, including strategies for mitigating identified barriers. The findings would enable relevant stakeholders, i.e. policymakers, industry practitioners, investors, government bodies and researchers to make informed decisions on implementation of WtE projects and thereby promote successful implementation of WtE projects in Sri Lanka.