Staff Profile

Research Interests

The role of arts and culture in peacebuilding (including local cosmologies), visual politics, protest and cultural politics in South and Southeast Asia, solidarity and civic courage during riots, alternative and non-liberal approaches to peacebuilding

Qualifications

• PhD, University of Queensland, Political Science and International Studies
• MA, University of Queensland, International Studies/Peace and Conflict Resolution
• BA, University of Colombo, Major in English, Minor in International Relations and Journalism

Previous Positions

• Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Political Science, Umeå University
• Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Geography, University of Zurich
• Visiting Lecturer, Department of International Relations, University of Colombo

My research examines the intersection of arts, culture and peacebuilding. In my book Theatre for Peacebuilding: The Role of Arts in Conflict Transformation in South Asia (Palgrave, 2018) I examine the peacebuilding approach and practices of three theatre groups from Sri Lanka, Nepal, and India.

Currently, I am working on a second book project that explores how different art forms including film, theatre, music, and literature contend with past violence, present conceptualisations of peace, and imagined futures in Sri Lanka. This project makes methodological, empirical and conceptual advances in peace and conflict studies. I respond to a persistent call for methodological pluralism by using an array of methods, including audio-visual elicitation and life diagrams. Empirically, I address a gap in the literature by examining the ways in which different art forms have engaged with peacebuilding over time in the context of Sri Lanka. Conceptually, I propose the framework of "arts as counterpublics" as a means to understand the transformative potential of the arts. 

Awards

• Dean’s Award for Outstanding Research Higher Degree Theses, The University of Queensland, 2015

Current Research projects and exhibitions

• 2023-2026: "Beyond winners and losers: Regional variations of peace in Sri Lanka's war victory" with A/Prof. Malin Åkebo (PI), Umea University, Sweden (Swedish Research Council)
• 2024: "Artful Struggles: Contemporary Art from Sri Lanka" exhibition co-curated with Prof. Lars Waldorf and organised in collaboration with GemArts, Agora and Vimbam

Past funded projects and exhibitions

• 2023: Impact Catalyst Fund for the "Artful Struggles: Contemporary Sri Lankan Art" exhibition in Harrow, co-organised with Prof. Lars Waldorf, Agora, Vimbam and the Harrow Arts Centre
• 2022: Faculty Research Fund to research music and peacebuilding in Sri Lanka’s 2022 Protests
• 2019-2020: "Varieties of Peace: A relational approach" with Prof. Anna Jarstad (PI), A/Prof. Malin Åkebo, A/Prof. Johanna Söderström, and A/Prof. Elisabeth Olivius (Riksbankens Jubileumsfond)
• 2019: Karl Staaff Foundation Individual Grant

Undergraduate

• POL1032: Key Concepts in International Politics
• POL2110: Security Studies 
• POL3046: Dissertation in Politics

Postgraduate

• POL8006: Theories of International Relations
• POL8060: Gender, War and Military 
• POL8062: Arts and Peacebuilding
• POL8099: MA Dissertation

• Articles

  • Waldorf L, Premaratna N. 'This coconut was the one that finally worked': Cursing for peace and justice in Sri Lanka. Peacebuilding 2025, 13(2), 209-229.
  • Premaratna N. Dealing With Sri Lanka’s Demons: Using Documentary Film for Peacebuilding. Journal of Peacebuilding and Development 2021, 16(1), 39-54.
  • Premaratna N. Theatre for peacebuilding: transforming narratives of structural violence. Peacebuilding 2020, 8(1), 16-31.
  • Premaratna N. Envision and Embody a People's Peace through Theater. Peace Review 2019, 31(3), 424-431.
  • Chou M, Bleiker R, Premaratna N. Elections as Theater. PS: Political Science & Politics 2016, 49(1), 43-47.

• Authored Book

  • Premaratna N. Theatre for Peacebuilding: The Role of Arts in Conflict Transformation in South Asia. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, 2018.

• Book Chapters

  • Premaratna N. Foes to fellows to friends: Performing relational peace through theater in Sri Lanka. In: Anna K. Jarstad, Johanna Söderström, and Malin Åkebo, ed. Relational Peace Practices. Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press, 2023, pp.198-220.
  • Premaratna N, Rajkobal P. The arts as a peacebuilding approach: Feminist contributions and directions. In: Tarja Väyrynen, Swati Parashar, Élise Féron, Catia Cecilia Confortini, ed. Routledge Handbook of Feminist Peace Research. London: Taylor and Francis, 2021, pp.260-269.
  • Premaratna N. Building peaceful communities: Collaboration and co-creation through theatre. In: Rosie Meade and Mae Shaw, ed. Arts, Culture and Community Development. Bristol: Policy Press, 2021, pp.231-239.
  • Premaratna N, Bleiker R. Arts and Theatre for Peacebuilding. In: Oliver P. Richmond, Sandra Pogodda, Jasmin Ramović, ed. The Palgrave Handbook of Disciplinary and Regional Approaches to Peace. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2016, pp.82-94.
  • Premaratna N, Bleiker R. Art and Peacebuilding: How Theatre Transforms Conflict in Sri Lanka. In: Oliver P. Richmond, ed. Palgrave Advances in Peacebuilding: Critical Developments and Approaches. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010, pp.376-391.