Making the state - society synergy a reality by bridging the great divide between the state and the society is vital for achieving prosperity. Of the several attempts in Sri Lanka to bridge this divide, Samurdhi , the current main social safety net in Sri Lanka, can be considered the most significant attempt. This book places its emphasis on researching the factors that influence the Samurdhi program s potential for creating a constructive engagement between the state and the civil society, thus empowering the civil society and contributing to achieving economic development. The study shows that state - society interaction has created a number of mutual benefits for both the state and society. Yet, some of the positive impacts of this synergy have been diminished by the absence of a proper policy direction. The political involvement in the program has created a distorted form of state - society interaction , thus negating some of the benefits of the synergy between the two actors. The book also suggests that current theories on the state - society synergy should pay more attention to causes of social fragmentations such as ethnicity and caste in the South Asian societies.