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Beyond the Brink: Can an Old Face Save a Country in Freefall?
On May 16, Sri Lanka’s new Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, declared that Sri Lanka only had enough petroleum stocks for one day. In a special statement, he outlined the island’s economic challenges in light of its first-ever sovereign default. The…
Sri Lanka’s Economic Crisis: Foreign Policy Amidst Domestic Tumult
Since the start of the new year, Sri Lanka has fallen deeper into an economic crisis. The crisis has led to protests across the country, the resignation of its Prime Minister, and its first debt default since independence. Ranil Wickremesinghe…
SAV Webinar: Disinformation and Crisis Escalation in South Asia
Disinformation, especially spread through the proliferation of new media technologies, has played an increasingly important role in crisis dynamics within South Asia. In this South Asian Voices webinar, experts in Washington D.C. and the subcontinent will discuss how disinformation and…
Sri Lanka’s Oppressive Stability Starts to Crumble
On the evening of April 2nd, Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa declared a weekend-long state of emergency on the island after protests erupted outside his Colombo residence. While Sri Lanka is no stranger to periods of state of emergency—the last was imposed…
SAV Q&A with Asanga Abeyagoonasekera: Sri Lanka’s Economic Crisis
On April 6, 2022, Asanga Abeyagoonasekera spoke with South Asian Voices Deputy Editor Sunaina Danziger and Associate Editor Isha Gupta on the current economic crisis in Sri Lanka, including its implications for Sri Lanka's geopolitical alignments and growing public discontent with the…
Correcting the Course of Sri Lanka’s Economy
Entering 2022, Sri Lanka seems headed towards a full-blown sovereign debt crisis. Recently, major credit rating agencies downgraded the country’s credit ratings—including Fitch, Moody's, and S&P—indicating that default appears imminent to many observers. Sri Lanka’s debt troubles stem from the…