What is the executive presidential system under the 1978 Constitution? A President directly elected for a fixed term is the Head of State and the Head of Government who exercises the executive…
As we approach the end of 2023 and with about a year to go for the next presidential election due before end 2024, President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s frequent refrain and indeed the rationale…
In the final part of this seven part article, let us focus on certain fundamental changes required to implement serious political and social reforms for the greater good of the country. If…
Devolution of power to the periphery has successfully curtailed demands for secession in a number of countries. There are significant differences in the level of devolutionary powers offered by each country. Canada…
One of the arguments raised against devolving police powers to provincial councils is that while a Cabinet Minister is in charge of the central police force, police units in each province controlled…
Thirty five years after its enactment, full implementation of the 13th Amendment to the constitution remains as controversial as it was at the beginning. The amendment faced opposition from both the South…
The 13th Amendment to the constitution is a product of Indo-Sri Lanka Peace Accord signed in July 1987, which acknowledged “The imperative need of resolving the ethnic problem of Sri Lanka, and…
The history of devolution in Sri Lanka is riddled with disappointments and missed opportunities. Although the armed conflict ended in 2009, the political conflict that led to the nearly 25 years of…
In the precolonial period of country’s long history, much of organised life was impacted from inter kingdom wars, natural events, harsh climate, hierarchical attitude and behaviour of provincial rulers, and the demands…
Sri Lanka, a multi-ethnic and multi-religious country, has been facing multiple and endless crises for decades. Effective solutions must be found to resolve the political, economic, cultural and relationship issues between the…
We at the BCIS began to conceptualize and plan this publication on the experience of democracy in our country at a time when the Sri Lankan people were on the verge of…
The 13th Amendment, created 35 years ago, has once again become a flashpoint after President Ranil Wickremesinghe declared its implementation. Anti-devolution forces have begun gnashing their teeth; those who went into hiding…
The process of ethnic assimilation, common in the pre-British era, largely ceased under colonial rule when communal identities were fostered and emphasized. It can arguably be said modern Sinhala nationalism emerged in…
Capitalist transition within a state is a process that involves changing institutions or the rules of the game so that markets become the primary mechanism for resource allocation. These changes must be…
Statfor The post war Sri Lankan state’s inability to fulfil the demands of global finance capital has devastated the lives of millions of Sri Lankans. This is a country where we see…
