Regional Geopolitics – Page 10

Factum Perspective: Pop, cricket and the role of culture in international politics

International Development, Regional GeopoliticsDecember 25, 2021518Views 0Likes 0Comments

By Chamara Sumanapala On November 30, 2021, the Caribbean island nation of Barbados became a republic, shedding its last constitutional ties to the British Crown. On that occasion, Barbados named a new national hero, Robyn Rihanna Fenty – the globally acclaimed pop star which created a wider debate on the criteria for a national…

Factum Perspective – Will Pakistan-Sri Lanka ties survive Sialkot killing?

Maritime Security, Peace and Conflict, Regional GeopoliticsDecember 20, 2021570Views 0Likes 0Comments

By Kamran Rehmat - Islamabad The ghastly lynching of Priyantha Kumara, a Sri Lankan manager at the Rajco textile factory in Silakot, which reportedly supplied the kits for the Pakistan cricket team at the recently concluded T20 World Cup, sent tremors across Sri Lanka and Pakistan. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Imran Khan…

Factum Perspective – Sri Lanka’s Foreign Policy since independence, which leader did it best?

Belt Road Initiative and Indo-Pacific Policy, Regional GeopoliticsDecember 12, 20212KViews 0Likes 0Comments

By Chandani Kirinde Cartoon by W.R. Wijesoma – Published 50 Years in Cartoon 1948-1977 For a small island nation like Sri Lanka, tiding over the turbulent world of international relations hasn’t been an easy task since independence. Much of the success stories in foreign affairs have depended on the country's leaders and the direction in which they…

Factum Perspective – Killing of Sri Lankan in Pakistan – Leaders must deliver on citizen calls for justice

Peace and Conflict, Regional GeopoliticsDecember 5, 20211KViews 0Likes 0Comments

By Arjuna Ranawana A Sri Lankan General Manager of a leading garment manufacturer in the city of Sialkot in Pakistan’s industrial heartland has been lynched and his remains burned. Prime Minister Imran Khan termed the incident a ‘’shame’’ to his nation. Priyantha Kumara, the victim, was in his forties and had been in Pakistan…

Factum Perspective – Can the West make a difference in Afghanistan

Belt Road Initiative and Indo-Pacific Policy, Peace and Conflict, Regional GeopoliticsNovember 19, 2021632Views 0Likes 0Comments

The return of the Taliban & the future of Afghanistan, Can the west make a difference? By Rathindra Kuruwita and Rikaza Hassan The fate of Afghanistan is still up for grabs by the west, but the clock is ticking … fast. The international community watched with a mix of shock, horror and awe as…

Factum Perspective: India’s Grand Bargain on 13th Amendment Continues

Regional GeopoliticsOctober 24, 2021436Views 0Likes 0Comments

B y Lakmali Mananperi India’s Foreign Secretary Harsh V Shringla holds discussions with Sri Lanka's President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in Colombo India’s Foreign Secretary Harsh V Shringla who was on an official visit to Sri Lanka last week has reiterated the obligations of the Sri Lankan government under the 13th Amendment to the Constitution. This…

Factum Perspective: Yohani, Menike Mage Hithe and Sri Lanka’s long road in Cultural Diplomacy

Regional GeopoliticsOctober 2, 20211KViews 1Like 0Comments

By Asoka Handagama Yohani and Satheeshan's rendition of Menike Mage Hithe goes viral Yohani De Silva’s cover of Menika Mage Hithe has gone viral, putting little known Sri Lanka on the map among pop music fans around the globe. Bollywood celebrities including Amitabh Bachchan, Madhuri Dixit and Priyanka Chopra are all praise for the song. Famous…

Factum Perspective: Emotional intelligence in strategic policy articulation

Peace and Conflict, Regional GeopoliticsSeptember 13, 2021793Views 0Likes 0Comments

J R Jayewardene and the Treat of Peace for Japan By Karu Paranawithana Caption – J.R. Jayawardene addresses the San Francisco Conference September post-1951 is an important month in Japan-Sri Lanka relations. Why? On 6 September this year (2021) Japan celebrated the 70th anniversary of the Treaty of Peace with Japan, an outcome…

Factum Perspective: Kadirgamar strategically infused professionalism into the Foreign Service

Regional GeopoliticsAugust 15, 2021593Views 1Like 0Comments

By Seevali The Government of Sri Lanka is planning to bring in professionals into the Foreign Service from various fields, mainly from some selected corporate entities. The last project carried out during the tenure of late Lakshman Kadirgamar, Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister in the 90s, under President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga aimed to achieve…

Factum Perspective: China’s Communist and ‘The Industrial Party’

Regional GeopoliticsAugust 8, 20211KViews 0Likes 0Comments

By Rathindra Kuruwita Many assume that the Chinese Community Party (CCP) combs the country’s social media platforms in search of critical content with the intention of putting people under house arrest. And of course, sometimes bloggers and message board theorists do get placed in house arrest; however, more often the CCP does this to know…

Factum Perspective: New Afghanistan: Democracy, not Empire is the answer

Regional GeopoliticsJuly 25, 2021785Views 0Likes 0Comments

By Adnan Rehmat from Islamabad and Omar Rajarathnam from Colombo Not all military interventions in modern times have happy endings, but the climax currently playing out in Afghanistan has an unprecedented twist. The country is at imminent risk of undoing its state-building gains of the last twenty years as a representative polity aligned with the…

Factum Perspective: Khashoggi Killing – when economic diplomacy gave accountability a pass

Regional GeopoliticsJuly 18, 2021652Views 0Likes 0Comments

By M.S.M.Ayub In October 2018, Jamal Khashoggi, a U.S. resident who penned columns critical of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the world-renowned Washington Post was killed and dismembered by operatives loyal to the prince in the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul. The democratic power centres were backward in holding the prince accountable. In February…