Global Norms and Local Effects: Assistance and Protection of Internally Displaced Persons in Sri Lanka

This thesis is concerned with questions about how international normative frameworks for the assistance and protection of internally displaced persons have come to be understood and applied in a local context. In order to accomplish this, a case study approach has been employed, with Sri Lanka selected as an ideal case study subject for analysis. Systematic reviews of literature concerning the international assistance and protection of internally displaced persons reveal that there is a gap in scholarship in this field – primarily concerning the normative considerations that constitute the Guiding Principles for Internal Displacement. The study that follows examines the formulation of these norms, their expressions, as well implementation and dissemination efforts combined with an analysis of how the local sphere has understood and experienced these processes and these frameworks. The findings from this thesis reveal original academic observations relevant for this field, as well potential policy and theoretical implications for how the international community approaches the dilemma of internal displacement in general.