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Long Reads

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Colombo, Long Reads, Political philosophy, Politics and Governance

Bringing Democracy Back Through People’s Power

Sri Lanka’s politics is at the crossroads. One path opened before the people is that of re-democratisation. It comes after decades of de-democratisation carried out by different factions of the country’s political…

Prof. Jayadeva Uyangoda Prof. Jayadeva Uyangoda on 08/16/202208/16/2022
Colombo, Constitutional Reform, Long Reads, Politics and Governance

21st Amendment: A Way Out of Sri Lanka’s Multiple Crises?

Sri Lanka’s economic crisis has attracted global attention and national fury. The irresponsible decisions of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa – cutting taxes, banning fertiliser and continuing with non-essential infrastructure projects financed by debt…

Dr. Sakuntala Kadirgamar Dr. Sakuntala Kadirgamar on 04/30/202204/30/2022
Colombo, Constitutional Reform, Long Reads, Politics and Governance

The Role of Government in Mal-governed States

What role should citizens expect a government to play in public life? The theoretical case for state intervention in the economy in the public finance discourse is based on an unstated assumption:…

Ravi Ratnasabapathy Ravi Ratnasabapathy on 04/19/202204/19/2022
Colombo, Culture, Gender, Human Rights, justice, Long Reads

A Tribute to Malathi de Alwis and Her Work

Malathi de Alwis, friend, mentor, teacher, feminist, anthropologist, birder, foodie and the most amazing cook, passed away on January 21. As we mourn this utterly devastating, untimely loss of one of the…

Chulani Kodikara Chulani Kodikara on 01/26/202101/26/2021
Colombo, Development, Environment, Long Reads, Peace and Conflict, Science and Technology

Other State Forests and the Conservation of Sri Lanka’s Rainforest Biota

Circular MWFC/1/20201 issued on 4 November by the Ministry of Wildlife and Forest Conservation has caused widespread concern and consternation. This circular seeks to make all Sri Lanka’s other state forests (OSFs)…

Dinarzarde Raheem Dinarzarde Raheem on 11/23/202011/23/2020
Colombo, Constitutional Reform, Features, Long Reads, Politics and Governance

Nonsense Upon Stilts? Revisiting Justifications of Presidentialism In Sri Lanka

With the enactment of the Twentieth Amendment, Sri Lanka embarks yet again down the fraught path of authoritarian presidentialism. Whether this latest adventure ends in a democratic nightmare, or is as fleeting…

Asanga Welikala Asanga Welikala on 11/18/202005/30/2022
Colombo, Healthcare, Long Reads, Media and Communications, Media and Communications, Pandemic

A Crisis in Communications

2020 has been defined by COVID-19; a year in which citizens, governments and medical first-responders found themselves in a whirlwind of unprecedented pandemonium. Adding to the confusion have been patterns of broken…

Sheshadri Kottearachchi Sheshadri Kottearachchi on 11/03/2020
Colombo, Constitutional Reform, Long Reads, Political philosophy, Politics and Governance

Sri Lanka: Rising Autocracy and Historical Experiences

S. P. Huntington has presciently warned that democratic transitions are vulnerable and reversible if ruling elites do not show genuine commitment to democratic values. He argues: “When they are out of power,…

Lionel Bopage Lionel Bopage on 10/28/202010/28/2020
20th Amendment, Colombo, Constitutional Reform, Long Reads, Politics and Governance

The 20th Amendment: Building a Future and Forgetting the Past

At the ceremonial opening of our first Parliament on 4th February, 1948 Mr. S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike addressed the nation with these words: “It is true that no people can live…

Professor Savitri Goonesekere Professor Savitri Goonesekere on 09/20/202009/20/2020
20th Amendment, Colombo, Constitutional Reform, Long Reads, Politics and Governance

20th Amendment, Sovereignty of The People and The Need for Approval at A Referendum

Photo courtesy New Indian Express The 20th Amendment to the Constitution Bill (20A) has been published. If I were to describe it in one sentence the 20th Amendment seeks to take the…

Dr. Jayampathy Wickramaratne Dr. Jayampathy Wickramaratne on 09/20/202009/20/2020
Colombo, Culture, Long Reads, Political philosophy, Politics and Governance, Religion and faith

The Past and the Present in the (Re)Constitution of the State

By Asanga Welikala and Roshan de Silva-Wijeyeratne The election of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in November 2019 marked the beginning of a new era of a Sinhala-Buddhist nationalist ascendancy in Sri Lanka. The…

Asanga Welikala Asanga Welikala on 08/25/202008/26/2020
Colombo, Constitutional Reform, Long Reads, Politics and Governance

The Nineteenth A: A Legacy Worth Recalling Despite its Impending Demise

Among as many as nineteen amendments introduced to the Constitution of 1978, three stand as having positively contributed to fulfilling Sri Lankan society’s democratic needs. The first is the Thirteenth Amendment. The…

Prof. Jayadeva Uyangoda Prof. Jayadeva Uyangoda on 08/03/202008/12/2020
Colombo, Human Rights, Long Reads, Peace and Conflict, Politics and Governance

The Night on the Horizon

Phillip Larkin (Going) That was Fort magistrate Ranga Dissanayake speaking in open court, on June 24th 2020. The pictures the CID officials wanted to show possible witnesses just before an identity parade…

Tisaranee Gunasekara Tisaranee Gunasekara on 07/13/202007/13/2020
Colombo, Development, Long Reads, Peace and Conflict, Politics and Governance, Politics and Governance

For a political-economic understanding of land conflicts in Eastern Sri Lanka

Photo courtesy  When talking about conflicts around land in eastern Sri Lanka, explanations based on ethnic identity spring to mind. Sri Lanka’s ethnic majority, for example, is seen as having the right…

Urs Geiser and Shahul H. Hasbullah Urs Geiser and Shahul H. Hasbullah on 02/10/202002/10/2020
Colombo, Issues, Long Reads, Peace and Conflict, Political philosophy, Politics and Governance, Politics and Governance

The Ethno-Economics of Majoritarianism: Notes on Conflict and Gotabaya’s Sri Lanka

Photo courtesy Tribune.lk In the aftermath of Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s election victory, a number of competing narratives have emerged offering differing explanations of how we arrived at this result. The prevailing liberal account,…

Uvin Dissanayake Uvin Dissanayake on 12/09/2019

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