In Disaster Nationalism, Vivian Y. Choi examines how the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami fostered new forms of governance and militarization during Sri Lanka’s decades-long civil war that led to enduring forms of precarity and insecurity. Tracing the development of disaster management projects following the tsunami, Choi demonstrates how these projects rest on a logic that treats natural disasters and terrorism as inevitable risks in need of management. The tsunami’s destruction foreclosed the possibility of political resolution to the war, as the state leveraged these projects to justify its militarized aggression in the war against the Tamil Tigers and a new construction of the Sri Lankan nation. Choi reveals how, paradoxically, state-sponsored disaster management projects—from new buffer and border zones to early warning systems—created more insecurity. Choi amplifies the experiences of those affected by the tsunami, particularly Tamil and Muslim communities. In so doing, Choi shows how life perseveres against perpetual uncertainty and danger—caused by natural disasters and state-sanctioned violence alike.

Vivian Y. Choi is Associate Professor of Sociology and Anthropology at St. Olaf College.

Note on Transliteration  ix
Abbreviations  xi
Preface: The Struggle Endures  xiii
Acknowledgments  xvii
Interlude  1
Introduction  3
Interlude  35
1. Emergence  37
Interlude  57
2. Anticipation  59
Interlude  77
3. Endurance  79
Interlude  101
4. Reiteration  103
Interlude  135
Postscript  137
Notes  147
References  159
Index  191