Scientific Publishing Sri Lanka at Crossroads: Geopolitical Challenges and National Interests

Asanga Abeyagoonasekera offers a unique perspective on a broad range of political, economic, and cultural trends as they impact and relate to Sri Lanka. With a focus on geopolitical influences, he offers great insight into the contemporary issues facing this relatively young island nation. Dr Karen S Miller, Chair of Political Science, Criminal Justice, and Organizational Leadership, Northern Kentucky University This is a great project linking Sri Lanka's geopolitics (as a backdrop) to examine the country's national security, foreign policy, relations, national development, regional affairs, etc., in a globalised world namely involving China, India, and the US. It is an in-depth study connecting all these aspects defining Sri Lanka's geopolitics, security, and development. Dr Runa Das, Professor of Political Science, University of Minnesota Duluth Abeyagoonasekera's book discusses the shift of power from the Asia-Pacific to the Indo-Pacific. With its unique geographic position, its human and natural resources, Sri Lanka is resuming its geostrategic and geopolitical significance.The book describes the decline of the west and how the epicenter of global development is shifting to Asia. After 450 years of colonial domination, the western civilization is on the decline. The world is witnessing the Fourth Industrial Revolution. In his admirable study, Abeyagoonasekera makes an appreciable contribution towards understanding our region's future! Professor Rohan Gunaratna, Head of the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, NTU Asanga Abeyagoonasekera skilfully and meticulously guides the reader to a clearer understanding of the thinking and decision-making within the highest echelons during various periods of Sri Lanka's recent past, and also offers a trenchant analysis as to the country's aspirations (including in the wider geopolitical and strategic context) into the future. Dr Shashi Jayakumar, Head of Centre of Excellence for National Security, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, NTU For those interested in the future of Sri Lanka and its position in the region and the world, this book shares many insights for a serious overview of prospects and strategies that must be considered. Dr Jerome C Glenn, CEO and Co-Founder, The Millennium Project Having celebrated its 70th year of independence in 2018, Sri Lanka, a strategically-positioned island nation, now finds itself with the potential to be a super connector in fast-developing Asia. While carving out a place for itself in the international arena, Sri Lanka has simultaneously had to look inwards to recover and rebuild its potential, bruised by an era of colonial rule and nearly 30 years of a civil war, with two youth insurrections. This book examines these twin dimensions. First, how Sri Lanka is negotiating its international reach and the spheres of influence that extend from other Asian and world powers, and second, how the country is engaging in nation-building, from days of racial riots to ones of peace-building, reconciliation, more robust governance, and the development of cyber security. Written from the perspective of a Sri Lankan academic and the head of the national security think tank, this book offers insights into how the country has addressed its post-conflict as well as geopolitical challenges, navigated through domestic politics, and ramped up peace-building efforts, to now reach a junction where it can put its foot firmly on the road to prosperity in a new Asian world order.