In May 2009, Sri Lanka made significant progress towards long-term peace and stability with the decisive end to a thirty-year armed separatist conflict. Five years on, the economy is in an exciting new era, but a sense of ‘cautious optimism’ prevails. In 2009 the country was struggling with a precarious balance of payments position, pressure on the rupee, and crumbling exports. Five years on, the economy is in a distinctly different position. Exports are recovering, infrastructure is improving, and investors are looking at the country favourably once more. But tensions with parts of the international community, questions over human rights and governance, and uninspiring performance on foreign direct investment, continue to be areas of concern for policymakers, private firms, and people, alike. This edition also contains a number of special articles and interviews on youth, education and employment, developed to coincide with the World Conference on Youth 2014, for which IPS was a key knowledge partner. At the heart of this edition, though, is the vision for a holistic framework to take Sri Lanka into the next five post-war years. As many of the expert opinions featured in this edition acknowledge, there is much to do to ensure that the country’s post-war dividend is harnessed to its full extent, and harnessed by not just the few. The research community has an important role to play in continually flagging the numerous policy challenges that must be tackled boldly and without delay. Sri Lanka has much work to do. But at least now these can be done in a climate unencumbered by war.