Peace and Conflict

Factum Perspective: How digital spaces are redefining democracy in the 2024 election

Peace and ConflictNovember 10, 2024200Views 0Likes 0Comments

By Manuja Wijesuriya 2024 is a significant year for global elections, with many countries across different continents holding elections this year. It is said that the 2024 election year was the busiest on record, with nearly half of the global population heading to the polls.[1] There was significant political activity anticipated this year, particularly with…

Factum Perspective: Digital Dynamics – Media and Geopolitics in the Modern Middle East

Peace and Conflict, Regional Geopolitics, Tech CooperationNovember 3, 2024120Views 0Likes 0Comments

By Deshani Samaragunarathna In the contemporary landscape of the Middle East, information technology has become a potent tool for power. The region's social and political landscapes are diversifying, reflecting significant changes in how information is disseminated, consumed, and wielded. Over the past few decades, particularly since the Arab Spring, the media landscape has transformed dramatically.…

Factum Special Perspective: Testing time for India’s foreign policy

Peace and Conflict, Regional GeopoliticsOctober 31, 2024157Views 0Likes 0Comments

By P. K. Balachandran India has reached a stage where it sees itself as a power that can pursue its “national interest” in defiance of the top dogs of the world order. Undeniably, India has successes in the economic and technological fields to validate its claim to an extent. India is wooed by the major…

Factum Perspective: Out of the abyss and into BRICS

Health and Economic Cooperation, International Development, Peace and Conflict, Regional GeopoliticsOctober 27, 2024471Views 0Likes 0Comments

By Shiran Illanperuma From October 22 to 24, the 16th BRICS summit was held in Kazan, Russia. Alongside the core group members of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, this year saw the formal addition of Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates. During the summit, another 13 countries, including Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand,…

Factum Perspective: Is the United Nations Failing in the Israel-Palestine Conflict?

Peace and Conflict, Regional GeopoliticsOctober 20, 2024174Views 1Like 0Comments

By Dulmi Thimansa On Wednesday, October 2, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz declared United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres persona non grata, banning him from entering the country. Katz justified the move on the grounds that Guterres had supposedly failed to “forcefully condemn” Iran’s missile attacks on Israel. He added that anyone who “cannot unequivocally condemn…

Factum Perspective: 2024 Sri Lankan Elections – The Momentous Rise of the Populist Left

Peace and Conflict, UncategorizedOctober 13, 2024709Views 1Like 0Comments

By Ramindu Perera On September 23, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, the 56-year-old leftist leader of the National People Power (NPP), was sworn in as President of Sri Lanka. The presidential election was a three-cornered contest between former President Ranil Wickremasinghe who stood for the elections as an independent candidate, opposition leader Sajith Premadasa of the Samagi…

Factum Special Perspective: Ethnic dimensions of the Sri Lankan presidential election

Peace and Conflict, UncategorizedOctober 10, 2024201Views 0Likes 0Comments

By Sivashanti Sivalingam The 2024 Presidential Election in Sri Lanka brought significant shifts in voting patterns, particularly in the Tamil-speaking regions of the North, East, and Central Provinces, showcasing the aspirations of the minorities to be heard, yet again. Sajith Premadasa, a Sinhala politician, secured substantial support from the Tamil community despite ethnic divides. The…

Factum Perspective: Presidential Elections in Sri Lanka – Key Takeaways

Peace and Conflict, Regional Geopolitics, UncategorizedOctober 6, 2024282Views 0Likes 0Comments

By Mohamed Shafkath and Dulmi Thimansa On September 21, 2024, Sri Lankans elected their ninth Executive President, Dissanyaka Mudiyansalage Anura Kumara Dissanayake. His win was not a simple victory; rather, a phenomenal one. Dissanayake managed to secure 5,634,915 votes in the first preference votes itself, leading by more than a million votes than the candidate…

Factum Perspective: The Political Costs of Austerity Measures and Relevance of Ethno-electoral Blocs

Peace and Conflict, UncategorizedSeptember 20, 2024198Views 0Likes 0Comments

Harindra B Dassanayake On Saturday, that is tomorrow, Sri Lanka will vote to elect a president amid its first ever sovereign debt default as an independent nation. This election ends the four-year absence of any form of national or subnational election since 2020. During this period, the country experienced many extreme events such as the…

Factum Perspective: The Protests in Kenya – Rising Anger Over Economic Policies and Drivers’ Strikes

Peace and ConflictSeptember 15, 2024140Views 0Likes 0Comments

By Nithu Ardithya Kenya is currently experiencing a significant surge in protests, fueled by widespread discontent with the government's economic policies, pervasive corruption, and deteriorating living conditions. On July 15, 2024, a major protest took place in Central Nairobi, organized by the Online Drivers Association. This protest brought together drivers from various e-hailing services like…

Factum Perspective: Sri Lanka to the Polls

Peace and Conflict, UncategorizedSeptember 8, 2024350Views 2Likes 0Comments

By Aavin Abeydeera Asia’s oldest democracy will enter the polls just a few days from the time of the publication of this article. Millions of Sri Lankans will line up at the election booths on the 21st of September this year, to choose Sri Lanka’s tenth executive president. Like a great many election cycles, this…

Factum Perspective: From “People-Friendly” to “Friends-Friendly” – Democratic Governance in South Asia

Peace and Conflict, Regional GeopoliticsSeptember 1, 20241KViews 0Likes 0Comments

By Rear Admiral Y. N. Jayarathna (Retd) The people’s uprising in Bangladesh against the Sheikh Hasina government has become an eye-opener for South Asia. It may mark not the end, but the beginning, of a cascading flow of events destined to unfold in our neighbourhood. This analysis is based on the trends and patterns on…