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Regional Geopolitics

Factum Perspective: When Caracas Echoes in Taipei 

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…

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Factum Special Perspective: Venezuela Shows Us What Comes Next

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…

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

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…

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Factum Perspective: Why Venezuela matters to the Global South

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…

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

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…

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

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…

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

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…

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

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…

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Factum Perspective: The Global South’s New Axis? India-China Solidarity in the Era of U.S Protectionism

By Madhuka Rukmalgama Introduction  In 2025, Washington’s decision to dramatically increase tariffs on Indian goods up to 50 per cent, sent shockwaves across markets and strategic capitals alike. Initially targeted at curbing New Delhi’s Russian oil purchases and addressing trade imbalances, the move is producing unanticipated diplomatic reverberations. Rather than consolidating India's ties with the…

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Factum Perspective: The Populist Surge, Europe’s Rightward Shift

By Chenuka Elwitigala Introduction to Right-Wing Populism Right-wing populism refers to the political ideology which unifies right-wing politics with the populist rhetoric often dubbed as right-wing nationalism. This rhetoric often reflects the anti-establishment sentiment in politics objecting to the elite capture of power in government and opposing establishment media escalating disconnection from the real people…

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Factum Perspective: Border in Flames: The Thailand–Cambodia Conflict of 2025 

By Deveen Balasuriya  For over the decades, border between Thailand and Cambodia has been more than just a line on a map. It has been a fault line where history, culture, and politics collide. That tension erupted violently again in mid-2025, resulting in the bloodiest cross-border fighting between the two countries in over a decade.…

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