From Trauma to Resilience to Peace? Charting resilient and pluralistic paths forward in post-civil war Sri Lanka

This introductory editorial for the special issue, “From Trauma to Resilience to Peace? Charting Paths Forward in Post-Civil-War Sri Lanka,” synthesizes six distinct contributions to map the island's psychosocial landscape in the sixteen years since the end of the civil war. Quantitative and qualitative examinations demonstrates that wartime violence, chronic economic stressors, and political volatility continue to impact mental health, while maternal narratives highlight the trans-generational impact of the war. Yet these investigations also reveal some hopeful possibilities for promoting resilience using tools such as spiritual coping, social-capital buffers, and practitioner ingenuity. New directions include targeted clinical care and social-protection policies combined with transitional-justice safeguards and community-based pluralism initiatives. Together, these articles make the case that sustainable peace must be both psychosocial and political, anchoring mental health recovery in both material security and engaged inter-ethnic and inter-religious coexistence.