By Md Salman Rahman Introduction On January 7th, 2024, Bangladesh conducted its 12th parliamentary election amidst intense political tensions gripping the nation. Awami League’s victory for the fourth consecutive term has managed to clinch the victory. The period leading up to the polls was characterised by clashes between opposing factions. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Jamaat-e-Islami,…
By Asanga Abeyagoonasekera “It is the job of thinking people not to be on the side of the executioners.” Albert Camus What happens when victims become executioners? Then, the dead will be left to be the innocent. Ordinary civilians, women and children who died and continue to die in Israel and Gaza are the innocent. 1,200 Israelis were…
By Asanga Abeyagoonasekera – Executive Director, SAFN “They make you forget your life and push you towards some light. All bourgeois tools of the oppressor. They tell you that injustice is part of some grand plan” Shehan Karunatilaka, The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida Washington, DC – Sri Lankan people are in agony due to the…
By Josh Bowes – Research Assistant SAFN With a new Maldivian president to be sworn in next month, the island nation will see a significant geopolitical tilt that is likely to ensnare the whole South Asian region in a vicious eye for power between nations. President-elect Mohamed Muizzu’s recent ‘India-Out’ campaign has driven a wedge between…
By Shreya Krishna – Research Assistant SAFN* India celebrated its 76th year of independence in August 2023. From 1947 to 2023, India’s foreign policy decisions and tactics have shifted. In Aparna Pande’s From Chanakya to Modi: The Evolution of India’s’ Foreign Policy, she discusses how Indian exceptionalism and its historic strategy of autonomy have guided its…
By Rathindra Kuruwita – Associate Fellow SAFN Several Sri Lankan civil society organizations, led by Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL), published a Governance Diagnostic Report on Sri Lanka on September 13 in Colombo. This document is publicized at a time when there is a great demand on Sri Lankan government to tackle bribery and corruption in the country,…
By Josh Bowes – Research Assistant SAFN Pic: WikiCommons – Public demonstration calling for Sharia Islamic Law in Maldives Extremism in the Maldives is not a new phenomenon. The South Asian country has long experienced Islamist terrorist activity that has been utilized for political gain in an effort to weaken democratic principles and freedom of expression. Opposition…
By Asanga Abeyagoonasekera, Executive Director SAFN Pic: June 27, 2023, “The Future of the Belt and Road Initiative” at the 14th Annual Meeting of the New Champions, also known as the Summer Davos, in north China’s Tianjin Municipality. (Xinhua/Li Ran) Washington, DC – Is China a developed nation? Or is China still developing? China will always…
By Rathindra Kuruwita – Associate Fellow SAFN On late March 2022, several hundred people, fueled by anger over a worsening economic crisis, attempted to storm then-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s private residence. A few weeks later, protestors gathered at the Galle Face Green and made camp, demanding the resignation of Rajapaksa and an end to the political system that…
By Saroj Deo, Research Associate SAFN During former PM KP Oli’s tenure, the relations between Nepal and India were low due to different reasons, particularly border and blockage issues. It was a great opportunity for Nepal’s Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal to improve bilateral relations. His visit showed some positive vibes although it was not…
