This is a seminal study on the relationship between aid, conflict, and peacebuilding in Sri Lanka. It builds upon a previous strategic conflict assessment conducted in 2000 and commissioned by the United Kingdom's Department for International Development. Since then, development and diplomatic partners in Sri Lanka have tried to pursue a more coherent "joined up" approach to addressing the challenges of peacebuilding. This study, by example, represents a joint initiative by five partners - the governments of the Netherlands, Sweden, and the U.K., the World Bank, and The Asia Foundation - to analyze political events since 2000 and prospects for a political solution to Sri Lanka's "national question."