Dr. R. Cheran is an academic, poet, playwright and journalist. Dr. Cheran has a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Jaffna, an MA in Politics of Alternative Development from the International Institute of Social Studies(ISS) in The Hague, Netherlands and a Ph.D. in Sociology from York University in Toronto, Canada. He is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminology at the University of Windsor and teaches in the areas of migration, genocide studies, transnationalism, and globalization. Dr. Cheran is the recipient of several major research awards, and his current research focuses on the role of peace builders and alternate forms of governance by nations without states in Myanmar, Indonesia, Nepal and Sri Lanka.