The USAID Freeze: A View From Sri Lanka and the Global South

On January 20, 2025, his first day in office, U.S. President Donald Trump signaled a pivotal turnaround in U.S. foreign policy, paving the way for arguably the most consequential shift since the September 11, 2001, attacks. In a single stroke, Trump imposed a 90-day freeze on all aid programs. TheContinue Reading

India Tightens Grip Over Sri Lanka With Defense Pact

On August 19, 2023, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, then a Sri Lankan opposition leader, criticized a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that then-President Ranil Wickremesinghe had signed with India. “We must have the freedom to freely move our hands and legs! But with this agreement, we will be in a situation whereContinue Reading

How Sri Lanka is Rewriting its Economic Narrative

Two weeks after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) completed its third review of Sri Lanka’s Extended Fund Facility, unlocking millions in critical funding, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s cabinet approved the National Anti-Corruption Action Plan (NACAP) 2025-2029. This move, coupled with a series of bold governance reforms, signals a paradigm shiftContinue Reading