Regional Geopolitics

Factum Perspectives: Sovereignty on Sale: Trump, Greenland, and the Unmasking of Superpower Ambition

Peace and Conflict, Regional GeopoliticsFebruary 1, 2026327Views 1Like 0Comments

By Zeenath Ayub In the 21st century, a global landscape seemingly long removed from the era of imperialist expansion has been jolted by a sudden revival of old-world territorial ambitions. This shift was brought into sharp focus by the explicit interest of US President Donald Trump in the Arctic island of Greenland – a move that challenged modern…

Factum Perspectives: Ratification to Readiness: What the BBNJ Treaty Means for Sri Lanka’s Ocean Governance

Maritime Security, Regional GeopoliticsJanuary 25, 2026334Views 0Likes 0Comments

By Aakil Riyaz The Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement entered into force on 17 January 2026, marking a significant shift in how the international community governs Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (ABNJ). For a littoral state such as Sri Lanka, whose economy, environment, and maritime security are intertwined with the Indian Ocean, the agreement goes…

Factum Perspective: When Conflict Becomes Routine: Structural Complacency in South Asia

History and Culture, Peace and Conflict, Regional GeopoliticsJanuary 18, 2026469Views 2Likes 0Comments

Written by Tarun Perera South Asia is routinely portrayed as one of the world’s most unstable regions, due to it being the location of nuclear rivalry, a hotspot for radicalized militant groups, and a geopolitical landscape where some of the most intractable territorial disputes in modern international politics remain unresolved. Despite the frequent escalation dynamics and internal…

Factum Perspective: When Caracas Echoes in Taipei

Belt Road Initiative and Indo-Pacific Policy, Peace and Conflict, Regional GeopoliticsJanuary 11, 2026243Views 0Likes 0Comments

By Gargi Wickramasinghe Shockwaves rippled across Caracas, when news broke of Operation Absolute Resolve. But the tremor did not stay there. It began travelling outward, across the Caribbean and the Pacific until it hit perhaps the most precarious geopolitical fault line in our region: the Taiwan Strait. The United States had demonstrated in the starkest possible way, that when it believes its strategic interests are at stake, it will act unilaterally, without waiting…

Factum Special Perspective: Venezuela Shows Us What Comes Next

Peace and Conflict, Regional GeopoliticsJanuary 9, 2026223Views 0Likes 0Comments

By Gargi Wickramasinghe In the morning after the removal of Venezuela’s disgraced President Nicolás Maduro by U.S. special forces, an emotional Chavista woman protesting in the streets of Caracas was filmed saying: “Stay alert because they are not coming for us. They are coming for our oil - and they are coming for you too.” Her warning carried the weight of history: “Understand this -what they want…

Factum Special Perspective: Venezuela and the Future of the BRI in Latin America

Belt Road Initiative and Indo-Pacific Policy, Peace and Conflict, Regional GeopoliticsJanuary 6, 2026536Views 0Likes 0Comments

By Shiran Illanperuma For Venezuelans, the new year began with the US illegally bombing its civilian infrastructure and kidnapping democratically elected President Nicholas Maduro and First Lady Cillian Flores. Hours before the attack, President Maduro met with a Chinese delegation sent by President Xi Jinping. This delegation included Special Envoy for Latin America and the Caribbean Qiu Xiaoqi, Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Latin…

Factum Perspective: Why Venezuela matters to the Global South

Peace and Conflict, Regional GeopoliticsJanuary 4, 2026346Views 0Likes 0Comments

By J. Abeywickrema Who rules when rules disappear? A single man and a small circle of his closest aides, unknown even to the House of Congress, took it upon themselves to attack a sovereign nation, seize its Head of State and assume control over its administration; and the world is apparently expected to accept this as normal. At a carefully choreographed post event media appearance, US President Donald…

Factum Perspective: Democracy’s Low Turn Out and Digital Influence

Regional GeopoliticsDecember 28, 2025367Views 0Likes 0Comments

By Gobinath Ponnuthurai Episode 1: The Minority Mandate – Why 25% is Not a Democracy In the lexicon of modern political science, “democracy” is often used as a binary—a state either is or is not. But for those tasked with the cold reality of policy design and institutional stability, we are witnessing the emergence of a third, more dangerous…

Factum Perspective: America first, Asia divided: How Trump’s trade push is splintering ASEAN

Health and Economic Cooperation, Regional GeopoliticsNovember 9, 2025349Views 0Likes 0Comments

By Jayson Cainglet When U.S. President Donald Trump returned to the world stage at the 47th ASEAN Summit in October, his message was loud and clear: America is open for business—but only on his terms. While headlines focused on the spectacle of Trump’s renewed bravado and China’s call for free trade, the real action happened behind closed doors. In…

Factum Perspective: The Bait-and-Switch of Palestinian Statehood

Peace and Conflict, Regional GeopoliticsOctober 5, 2025486Views 0Likes 0Comments

by Saritha Irugalbandara On 21 September, 108 years since the United Kingdom (UK) issued the Balfour Declaration in support of establishing a Jewish ‘homeland’ within Palestine, Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced that the UK officially recognises the State of Palestine. The announcement came ahead of the 88th session of the United Nations General Assembly and…

Factum Perspective: Nepal’s Uprising, Another Sri Lanka in the Making?

Regional GeopoliticsSeptember 21, 2025695Views 1Like 0Comments

By Omar Rajarathnam Centuries under the rule of a King, a Maoist overthrow, decades under corrupt civilian rule, Nepal’s take over by its people in September 2025 came overnight as its police gunned down over 19 youth. Many international media have portrayed the protest as a social media ban triggered Gen Z uprising, this is…

Factum Special Perspective: Street Power in South Asia: Lessons from Colombo, Dhaka, and Kathmandu

International Development, Regional GeopoliticsSeptember 18, 2025666Views 0Likes 0Comments

By Dr. Viranjana Herath Recently, three South Asian nations, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Nepal, have marked a significant chapter in modern world history through a theme of public uprising. In 2022, the people of Sri Lanka successfully ousted the top leaders of their government, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa. Nevertheless, the new…