The Macron Method
LONDON – Emmanuel Macron’s election to the French presidency provides the European Union with an opportunity to move past the internal conflicts that have hastened its disintegration. Rather than standing exclusively with…
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Brexit or Breakup?
STOCKHOLM – Even after abandoning its empire, the United Kingdom hesitated for decades to join Europe. But it eventually did, and in the past half-century it became a proponent of European Union…
Where Has All the Water Gone?
MANILA – We live on a parched planet. Farmers till arid pastureland, and policymakers fret over empty reservoirs, dry rivers, and thirsty cities. And that only scratches the surface – literally –…
Laughing in the Dark
LONDON – As a former Soviet citizen, I can tell you: it’s never a good sign for a political system when artists start speaking out against it. And when their statements visibly…
Restoring Faith in Globalization
MUNICH – I must confess that I am a firm believer in the benefits of globalization. To my mind, the gradual interlinking of regions, countries, and people is the most profoundly positive…
Trump’s First Victims
Image courtesy PRINCETON – When Donald Trump was elected President of the United States, I did not join those who took to the streets in protest. I thought it important to respect…
Trump’s Unrealpolitik
NEW YORK – Some in the United States have praised President-elect Donald Trump for his supposed realism. He will do what is right for America, they argue, without getting caught up in…
Amending the Online Safety Act and the Centrality of Human Rights Principles
Cabinet Spokesman Minister Vijitha Herath’s position on the Online Safety Act (OSA) at the press briefing held on November 6 essentially re-affirms what was noted in Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s manifesto in relation…
Building on Hope, Gaining Trust: Challenges for a New Government
Elections can be times of hope, offering the possibility of a fresh start, yet also bring deep divisions to the surface. Sri Lanka is one of several countries where in 2024 voters…
A Feminist Politician, Political Furore: Feminist Analysis for a New Age
The tectonic plates shifted in Sri Lanka’s political fabric on September 21. The political rupture caused by Anura Kumara Dissanayake, once considered a rank outsider, becoming the president was that moment. It…
What Can We Learn from Sri Lanka’s Debt Default?
At Independence in 1948, Sri Lanka was second to Japan on most socio-economic indicators and ahead of South Korea on per capita income in 1960; it has since slipped behind most Asian…
Putting the Petition in Perspective
The petition from 182 economists and development experts calling for the cancellation of Sri Lanka’s sovereign debt has provoked rather interesting discussions in Sri Lanka and elsewhere. W. A. Wijewardena calls these…
Aleppo: A complete meltdown in humanity
.” – Zygmunt Bauma The world is witnessing in Syria a humanitarian catastrophe of historic proportions. People trapped in Aleppo have been posting goodbyes on social media. Russian forces supported by Iranians,…
The Deconstruction of a Supremacist
Photo via Al Jazeera Notwithstanding his rise to ultimate power as a politician in this country, Mahinda Rajapaksa retains the mindset of an uneducated peasant , in this instance from Giruwapattuwa. Despite…
