South Asia Center presents: Neil DeVotta

Neil DeVotta Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, Wake Forest University Sri Lanka’s Soft-Authoritarian Dispensation When Sri Lanka’s nearly three decades long civil war ended in May 2009, many believed that the country was finally bound to reap a peace dividend that would be rooted in greater ethnic toleration and better governance. What has transpired instead is a soft-authoritarian dispensation that is partly geared toward ensuring a political dynasty. While a number of reasons have contributed toward this outcome, the current political trajectory bodes further ill for the country’s Tamil and Muslim minorities and democratic politics. It also stands to impact the country’s foreign policy in ways that could unsettle regional relations.