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Ratings: ★★★★☆ (4/5)
Genre: Sri Lankan History, Political Science, Conflict Studies, Military History, International Relations, Non-Fiction.

Book Review:
Rohan Gunaratna's ''War & Peace in Sri Lanka'' is a significant and detailed contribution to the understanding of one of the most complex phases of the island's ethnic conflict. Written during the late 1980s/early 1990s, it provides a crucial contemporary analysis of the Tamil militant movement, the pivotal role of Indian intervention, and the high-stakes diplomacy surrounding the Indo-Lanka Accord of 1987.

The book's strength is its focus on strategic and security dimensions often overlooked in purely political narratives. Gunaratna delves into the operational plans of militant groups, the involvement of foreign intelligence agencies, and the military calculations of both the Sri Lankan state and India. His warnings about the ''Colombo based Armchair Warlords'' and the potential for the South to become ''a second North or East'' reflect a sharp, critical perspective on the failures of national security policymaking.

While the analysis is firmly rooted in its time and reflects the author's particular viewpoint (which tends to emphasize external factors and security threats), it remains an invaluable primary source for researchers and students of Sri Lanka's conflict. It offers a clear, accessible narrative that, as Professor Buultjens notes in the introduction, helps the informed public digest complicated events. For anyone seeking to understand the geopolitics of Sri Lanka's civil war, this book is essential reading.