Paolillo Contributes Chapter to New Volume on Protest and Resistance in Sri Lanka

OSoMe faculty member John Paolillo has contributed a chapter to the forthcoming volume Revolution, War, and Protest in Sri Lanka: From Armed Struggle to Nonviolent Resistance.

In “Functions of Facebook in the 2022 Sri Lankan Struggle,” Paolillo examines how Facebook was used during Sri Lanka’s 2022 protest movement, known as the Aragalaya. Analyzing Facebook posts collected through CrowdTangle, he identifies four distinct phases of Facebook interaction that correspond with the protest timeline. Paolillo's analysis also identifies patterns of communication among pages and groups, including postering, alerting, sharing grievances, commiserating, and bolstering morale.

The chapter is part of a collection examining protest and political resistance in Sri Lanka from 1971 to 2022. Bringing together studies of insurgency, civil disobedience, and artistic resistance, the volume explores connections among movements across different periods and communities while reconsidering the boundaries between violent and nonviolent forms of protest. Revolution, War, and Protest in Sri Lanka will be released October 7.