Populist Politics and Law Reform in Sri Lanka: Whither Legal Pluralism?

This paper explores the complex interplay between Right-wing populism and law reform, and its impact on legal pluralism, analysed through the ‘One Country, One Law’ (OCOL) law reform campaign in Sri Lanka. Focusing on legal processes as embedded within socio-cultural and political contexts, and understanding law reform as a site where political ideology is articulated and mobilised to advance populist politics, this discussion examines the Right-wing legal mobilisation through the OCOL campaign, which challenges not just Muslim personal law but also the plural legal system of Sri Lanka. Although the reform campaign was abandoned, this paper demonstrates that the reform process was appropriated by Right-wing populist actors to promote a single unified legal system in line with the majoritarian political ideology and the marginalisation of minority communities. Such politicisation has a profound impact on society, particularly one that values diversity and pluralism.