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Department of Political Science

University of Peradeniya

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Dr. Ramesh Ramasamy

Senior Lecturer

BA (Hons), MRDP, PhD

  •    Department of Political Science
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About Me

I have been working as senior lecturer in Political Science at the University of Peradeniya. My research interests are largely on quality of governance, corruption, institutional trust, public service delivery and minority rights. I teach governance, public policy, human rights, development administration and research methodology at both bachelors and postgraduate levels over the last ten years. I have published several peer reviewed journal articles and book chapters in reputed journals and publishing houses. I have coordinated two waves of governance and trust survey in Sri Lanka (2015 and 2020) under NORHED project on Policy and Governance Studies in South Asia.

Education

PhD in Public Administration

University of Bergen/ Tribhuwan University

2018

Masters in Regional Development and Planning

University of Colombo

2011

BA Hons (Peradeniya)

University of Peradeniya

2008

Current Positions

Coordinator: Outreach Program, Faculty of Arts - UoP

Warden: Marcus Fernando Hall - UoP

Academic Coordinator - Centre for the Study of Human Rights, University of Peradeniya - UoP

Senior Students Counsellor - University of Peradeniya

Senior Lecturer - Department of Political Science, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka

2013 - To Present

Memberships

Member - South Asian Network for Public Administration -SANPA

2021

Awards

The International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) award which is part of U.S. Department of State’s premier professional exchange program - State Department

2021

The National Center for Advanced Studies Grant for Postgraduate Studies - NCAS

2015

The European Commission Scholarship - European Union

2016

The NORHED Scholarship for Policy and Governance Studies in South Asia - NORAD

2014

Publications

CHAPTERS IN BOOKS

Emerging political patterns in the plantation sector: the need for democratic politics. In; 150 years of Tea in Sri Lanka: selected articles. Institute of Social Development, Kandy, 2020.

Incomplete Citizenship of the Plantation Community: Access to Governance Institutions and Public Service Delivery in Sri Lanka. In Daniel Bass and B. Skanthakumar, (eds), Upcountry Tamils: Charting a New Future. International Centre for Ethnic Studies: Colombo, Sri Lanka, 2020.

Structural Changes and Present Status of Wage of the Plantation Workers of Sri Lanka (co-authored), In; 150 years of Tea in Sri Lanka, A.S. Chandrabose and R. Ramesh, (eds), Virakesari Express Newspaper Ltd. Colombo, 2018.

Citizens’ Trust in Public Institutions: The Case of Upcountry Tamils in Sri Lanka, In; 150 years of Tea in Sri Lanka, A.S. Chandrabose and R. Ramesh, (eds), Virakesari Express Newspaper Ltd. Colombo, 2018.

Public Administration in Sri Lanka: An Inquiry into Structure, Reforms, and Management (co-authored), 2018. In, Ishtiaq Jamil, (ed), Civil Service Administration and Management in South Asia. Palgrave Macmillan, USA.

Party politics in the plantation sector of Sri Lanka: growth and changes (2017). In, Amita Shastri and Jayadeva Uyandoga, (eds,) Political Parties in Sri Lanka: Changes and Continuity. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.

Nexus between quality of government, citizenship and public service delivery: evidence from Sri Lanka. In Istiaq Jamil, Tek Nath Dhakal and Sk. Taqfique. M. Haque (eds), Policy Respnse, Local Service Delivery and Governance in Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka. Palgrave Macmillan. USA, 2021.

Bureaucratic culture, accountability and corruption in Sri Lanka. In; Ali Farazmand (ed), Global Encylopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy and Governance. Springer, 2021.

Impact of Freedom of Information on Accountabilty and Corruption. In; Ali Farazmand (ed), Global Encylopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy and Governance. Springer, 2021.

JOURNAL ARTICLES

Key challenges of studying public administration in developing countries: An exploration from Bangladesh and Sri Lanka (co -authored) (Taylor and Francis)

https://doi.org/10.1080/15236803.2022.2116262 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15236803.2022.2116262

Institutional trust paradox: understanding the dynamics of trust among different ethnic groups in Sri Lanka (co-authored) (Taylor and Francis)

https://doi.org/10.1080/09584935.2022.2110570 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09584935.2022.2110570

Does Ethnicity Matter: an inquiry on citizens’ trust in public institutions of Sri Lanka, Millennial Asia, Vol 08 (02), 2017. (Sage)

Include the excluded: Plantation communities and the local government services (co-authored). LST Review, Vol 29, No 345, May 2018.

Sri Lanka’s Plantation Communities: Public Service Delivery, Ethnic Minorities and Citizenship Rights, South Asia Research, Volume 38, Issue 3, 2018. (Sage)

Governance Effectiveness and Economic Growth: Evidence from Sri Lanka. (2019). Indian Journal of Public Administration. Volume: 65 (2): 430-450 2019. (Sage)

Quality of Government, Public Service Delivery and Institutional Impartiality in Ethnically Polarized Societies: Evidence for Policy Makers. Asia Pacific Journal of Public Administration, 2020, Vol, 42, No 1): 46-60. (Taylor and Francis)

Governance and administration in Sri Lanka: trends, tensions and prospects. In Special Issue on Public Governance, Integrity and Performance in Asia. Public Administration and Policy: An Asia Pacific Journal, Emerald Publishing Group, 2020, Vol, 23, No.02, pp.187-198. (Emerald)

How equal is access to public service: The impact of socio-democgraphic background on public service delivery in Sri Lanka. Journal of Developing Society, Vol, 37(01), 1–23. DOI: 10.1177/0169796X20970882. (Sage)

Youth radicalization into violent extremism: a study of pathways in the post-war context of Sri Lanka. (2021). Journal of Youth Studies, https://doi.org/10.1080/13676261.2021.2010684. (Taylor and Francis)

Plantation system in transition: a study on changing patterns of land, production and employment in the tea plantation sector of Sri Lanka. (2021, December). Vistas Journal, Vol 14 (02): 26-55.

Corruption – Poverty Nexus: Evidence from Panel ARDL Approach of SAARC Countries. (2022). Asian Journal of Comparative Politics. https://doi.org/10.1177/20578911211069496. (Sage)

Conferences

Presented the paper entitled “Administrative System of Sri Lanka: Reforms and Management, at the 12th World Congress of Regional Science Association International, Goa, India, 2018.

RSAI World Conference is an annual conference organized by the Regional Science Association International. The Regional Science Association International (RSAI) is composed of four supraregional groupings of individual national and international sections or associations: European Regional Science Association (ERSA), North American Regional Science Council (NARSC), Pacific Regional Science Conference Organization (PRSCO), Latin American Regional Science Associations (LARSA).

Goa, India

Presented the paper entitled “The Quality of Government, Public Service Delivery and Citizenship Rights: The Case of the Plantation Community in Sri Lanka, at the International Conference on Gender Mainstreaming in Politics, Administration, and Development in South Asia and Beyond, held in Dhaka, Bangladesh, 2017.

The conference was part of the regional PhD seminar organized under the NORHED project

North South University, Dhaka

Presented the paper entitled “citizenship rights, access to public services and the quality of government in Sri Lanka” at the EADI conference, held Bergen, Norway 2017.

This is an annual conference organized by the European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI)

Bergen, Norway

Presented the paper entitled “Public administration in Sri Lanka: structure, changes and management” at the conference on Public Administration in South Asia, held in Kathmandu, Nepal, 2015.

This conference was part of a book project supported by NORHED project on governance and policy studies in South Asia.

Kathmandu, Nepal

Presented the paper entitled “Constitutional Amendments, Institutional Crisis (Tensions) and Governance Quality in Sri Lanka, at the Regional Conference on Mapping Governance Innovations in South Asia (virtual), Organized by South Asia Network for Governance Studies, held on April, 9-10, 2021

The conference intended to bring out governance innovations in South Asia

Bangladesh/India

Presented the paper entitled “Diminished citizenship: struggle continues for a meaningful social citizenship, at the Reimaging citizenship in South Asia Conference (online), organized by the Department of Politics, York University, 4th September, 2021

The conference aimed to discuss various dimensions of citizenship in South Asia.

York University (virtual)

Presented the paper entitled “The Covid -19 pandemic response in Sri Lanka: governance challenges, at the NASPAA South Asia virtual conference on Preparing Public Leaders in South Asia for a Post-Pandemic World, organized by the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration (NASPAA) South Asian Institute of Policy and Governance (SIPG),North South University JSW School of Public Policy(JSW-SPP), IIM Ahmedabad, 11-14, November, 2021.

The conference was organized by the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration (NASPAA) South Asian Institute of Policy and Governance (SIPG),North South University JSW School of Public Policy(JSW-SPP), IIM Ahmedabad

North South University, Dhaka

Specialization

Governance, public administration, institutional trust, the quality of government, public policy, corruption, human rights, citizenship and the plantation community

Research Interests

Governance, public administration, institutional trust, the quality of government, public policy, corruption, human rights, citizenship and the plantation community

Ongoing Research and Projects

Post-war Democracy Building Initiatives in Sri Lanka 2015 – 2019: Lessons Learned

The research project aims to examine why the 2015-2019 democratic reform agenda in Sri Lanka stalled during the middle of the course despite all the hype and popular support for political reforms at the beginning. The lessons that can be derived from the pursuit of these democratic reforms are crucial for any democracy building endeavors in the future. This research aims to generate a wide public discourse on the paradox of democracy in Sri Lanka. The is part of think tank capacity building (ttcb) project funded by University of South Carolina Rule of Law collaborative and implemented by the Regional Centre for Strategic Studies -RCSS, Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka Barometer on Reconciliation: A study on Social and Political Trust in Sri Lanka, funded by GiZ

The study aims to measure political and social trust among different ethnic groups in Sri Lanka which is part of a larger project on peace building and reconciliation in Sri Lanka, implemented by GiZ.