The End of Europe’s Chinese Dream
BERLIN – A paradigm shift is taking place in relations between the European Union and China. The COVID-19 crisis has triggered a new debate within Europe about the need for greater supply-chain…
Diplomacy
Kofi Annan’s Achievement
CANBERRA – Kofi Annan deserves to be remembered as a near-exemplary United Nations secretary-general (SG). Great chief executives need a guiding vision for the exercise of authority, and all the more so…
State reforms as a domestic policy imperative
Earlier this week, Parliament debated, on an adjournment motion by the TNA, the unresolved issues of the North and East, namely dealing with the effects and the causes of the war. The…
Geneva and coming colours: A lesson for Colombo
The recent activity in Geneva around High Commissioner Zeid’s oral update on Sri Lanka illuminated an interesting dynamic with respect to accountability in Sri Lanka. The noticeable pull back from the terms…
Sri Lanka’s Foreign Policy Trends since January 2015: Some Critical Thoughts
Photo courtesy My views expressed here today do not represent positions of any political party, or any power center. I do not have any personal or political stake either at the ways…
Sri Lanka’s Domestic Probe & India, the US and China
The fourth US sponsored Resolution to the UNHRC Sessions in Geneva concedes the SL government could conduct its own investigations into “alleged serious violations and abuses of human rights and related crimes”…
PODCASTS from “Watch this space: Framing the past, untying the future” exhibition
Curated by Senior Researcher at the Centre for Policy Alternatives and Editor of – an exhibition featuring Sri Lankan art and work from the Artraker “Art of Peace” series, theatre and…
Dealing with two Asian superpowers: President Sirisena’s visit to China
Image courtesy Asia One Sri Lanka stands to benefit enormously by dealing positively with the two Asian super powers, India and China. The two countries are potential rivals. The two Asian whales…
FM Samaraweera Calls for Patience on Human Rights Front and Improved Sri Lanka-USA Relations
Photo courtesy MFA Sri Lanka Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera in his first visit to Washington, D.C. after assuming office addressed a full-house gathering at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP) on…
Sri Lanka’s geopolitical importance to the United States
Image courtesy California Bangla During late January and early February 2015, Sri Lanka witnessed the visits of many foreign officials to the country. Prominently featured among them were the visits of the…
Charting a New Course: Sri Lankan Foreign Policy
Photo by Buddhika Weerasinghe/Getty Images, via Time There could not have been a better time to be a student or a professional of International Relations in Sri Lanka, given the geopolitical dynamics…
Letter to Nonis the Chris
Dearest Mr. Nonis, who is doctor also, It is with the greatest sadness that we are hearing about the assault upon your person by the person who is supposed to be monitoring…
Why the Government of Sri Lanka fails internationally
This is among the many important challenges to the “democratically elected” Government of “democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka” (GOSL). There may be various answers but let me offer five reasons why…
Gamani Corea: Champion of the Global South
Robert S McNamara, who was US Secretary of Defence under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson, then served as President of the World Bank from 1968 to 1981. Despite his contentious legacy in the…
Commonwealth must honour its own commitments
Photo courtesy The choice of Sri Lanka as a venue for CHOGM 2013 has always remained controversial. But now that most member countries have agreed to go ahead and participate in the…
