Power To The People
Reflecting on the recent elections in both Sri Lanka and the US is an interesting exercise particularly because, as the two countries now have synchronized election cycles, comparisons and contrasts are readily…
Political philosophy
Towards Stability, Equity and Prosperity in Sri Lanka – Part 3
The public appears to be pleased with most of the measures the president and the interim cabinet have taken. Yet there is much more to be done. The recent allegations made against…
A New Script for Tamil Politics in Sri Lanka?
Tamil politics in Sri Lanka has entered uncharted territory. The cracks in Tamil politics had been evident for some time but with the September 21 presidential elections, it has broken into fragments.…
Waiting for a Democratic Opposition
The point had been made often enough. Without a Gotabaya Rajapaksa presidency, there wouldn’t have been an Anura Kumara Dissanayake presidency. For the NPP/JVP to go from 3 percent to 42 percent…
Sri Lanka’s Political Moment in 2024: Part 2
The year 2024 marks a watershed moment in Sri Lanka’s political history. The National People’s Power (NPP) party, led by Anura Kumara Dissanayake (AKD), has ascended to power on a platform that…
Sri Lanka’s Political Moment in 2024: Part 1
Jazeera In the wake of the National People’s Power (NPP) party’s remarkable victory in the 2024 presidential election, some observers have been quick to attribute the result to a protest vote against…
A New Dawn for Sri Lanka’s Democracy and Future
Sri Lanka’s 2024 presidential election has marked a historic shift in the political landscape with Anura Kumara Dissanayake securing a decisive victory. The election is seen as a resounding rejection of the…
Towards a Programmatic Politics
Photo courtesy The Hindu I write this two days before Sri Lanka elects its 9th executive president. Whether it will be NPP, SJB or Ranil Wickremesinghe who comes into power is to…
The JVP and Ethnic Relations: Walking a Tightrope to 2024 (Part 3)
As Sri Lanka approaches the 2024 presidential election, the NPP is positioning itself as a major contender. In the previous articles (part 1 and part 2), we explored the JVP’s historical trajectory…
The NPP, the JVP and the Realities of Communist Party Governance
As Sri Lanka approaches a critical election many citizens, disillusioned with the incumbent government and the economic crisis, are pinning their hopes on the National People’s Power (NPP) alliance. The NPP, particularly…
The JVP and Ethnic Relations: Walking a Tightrope to 2024 (Part 2)
In Part 1, we explored the JVP’s evolving rhetoric and policies regarding ethnic relations, highlighting a shift from a more homogenous vision of Sri Lankan identity towards recognizing and accommodating diversity. However,…
The JVP and Ethnic Relations: Walking a Tightrope to 2024 (Part 1)
As the 2024 elections approach in Sri Lanka, the National People’s Power (NPP) is positioning itself as a major contender. However, the JVP, the dominant party within the NPP, carries a legacy…
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…
Sri Lanka in the Current Global Context
The purpose of this article is to provide an analysis of the major characteristics of the global context today and to point out a key implication for the Sri Lankan state. A…
State Formation, the Politics of Capitalist Transition and Conflicts
Given the wars and conflicts that engulfed the world at the end of 2023, peace and conflict studies have become even more important as we welcome 2024. This article is based on…