The Post Aragalaya Political Trajectory
This month marks the second anniversary since former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was ousted in a mass uprising. The 2022 March to July mass protest wave was truly an extraordinary event in Sri…
Politics and Governance
Political Storms, Imagined and Real
Two years ago, on July 20, 2022, the Sri Lankan parliament voted to elect a successor president to Gotabaya Rajapaksa. The SLPP put its full weight behind Ranil Wickremesinghe; even a parliamentarian…
Digital Sovereignty Within the Context of the Personal Data Protection Act
Sri Lanka has been forefront in the South Asian region in the battle of technology and innovation. While protecting the privacy and data flow across online, it passed the Personal Data Protection…
A.K. Dissanayake Continues to Lead in Favourability Ratings
In the Institute for Health Policy (IHP) SLOTS polling in June, net favourability rating of SJB leader Sajith Premadasa improved to -39 in June (up 27 points) compared to the previous month….
Impact of Reforming Labour Laws
Labour law reforms are drawing strong resistance from local and transnational labour and civil society groups. The Minister of Labour and Foreign Employment, Manusha Nanayakkara, presented an Employment Draft Bill to the…
Impact of Ageing Population and Falling Birth Rates
World Population Day is a day to raise awareness and focus on the urgency, importance and complexities of global population issues. The day was first commemorated on July 11, 1987 as the …
R. Sampanthan: An Icon of Tamil National Politics
The demise of Rajavarothayam Sampanthan, the senior-most leader who guided Tamil national politics post Mullivaikkal, has deepened the leadership vacuum in Tamil politics. Sampanthan entered the political arena through the Ilankai Tamil…
Support for President Ranil Wickremesinghe Increases
Institute for Health Policy’s (IHP) Sri Lanka Opinion Tracker Survey (SLOTS) MRP provisional estimates of presidential election voting intent in May 2024 show support for NPP/JVP leader AK Dissanayake at 39% (-2)…
Shared Encounters from Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Thailand
In a world where narratives of conflict and division dominate, the International Centre for Ethnic Studies (ICES) offers a refreshing perspective through its latest project, Shared Encounters. This semi-academic book, along with…
The Passing of R. Sampanthan MP: Snapshots from a Divided Country
R. Sampanthan MP passed away on June 30, 2024. He was 91. Sampanthan was a venerable statesman, and veteran Tamil politician. His passing marks the end of an era. As journalist Meera Srinivasan…
Empowering Women in Politics: A Catalyst for Change
Photo Courtesy of Verite Research Sri Lanka’s women are literate and well educated with a 92.3 percent literacy rate and 1.4 female students for every one male student enrolled in tertiary education….
Economic Justice and Financial Support for Torture Victims
Victims of torture can include those who survived torture, those who were killed and also their family members. Survivors of torture suffer from the effects of torture for prolonged periods, often for…
Rethinking the Idea of State Security
This article questions how we understand what is meant by state security. Rethinking what we mean by state security has to start with how we understand the state. The state is usually…
Strong Laws, Weak Enforcement: Torture Persists Despite Legal Protections
Torture refers to the act of deliberately inflicting severe physical or psychological pain and suffering on someone, usually to extract information, coerce a confession, punish, intimidate or as an act of cruelty….
Constitutional Governance and the Independence of the Judiciary
The president’s speech in parliament last week raises serious concerns about his own understanding of the workings of the Constitution and his own commitment to constitutional governance and the independence of the…
