Sri Lanka’s Foreign Policy under the Coalition Government (Special Reference to 2015-2018 Period)

Abstract

Foreign policy is a key component of a state which represents the nature of its relations with the world. Regime changes in a particular state always have an impact on the foreign policy and it changes the nature of it. This study has been conducted in order to analyze the reasons for the failure of foreign policy under the coalition government. Presidential elections and the general election in 2015, the National Unity Government was formed by the two main political parties of the country. The SLFP was led by President Maithripala Sirisena and UNP was led by Ranil Wickramasinghe. The formation of the coalition government signified a deviation from the political culture of external confrontation between the two main political parties, the UNP and SLFP. President Sirisena had campaigned for “Good Governance” and wanted to conduct a more balanced, so called “Non-Aligned” foreign policy. Further maintaining good relations with the US, Europe, China, India & other countries. Under Sirisena is presidency, it was expected to strictly adhere to the policy of middle path & extend friendship to all. 2018 was a very dramatic year for Sri Lanka politics. President sacked the Prime Minister and his cabinet and reinstated the former president as the new Prime Minister, triggering a political crisis. These constitutional crises mainly influence Sri Lanka’s foreign relations especially Indo-Sri Lanka and China-Sri Lanka relations. Due to these reasons, Sri Lanka’s foreign policy has become unstable. The main objective of this study is to analyze the reasons for the failure of foreign policy in the 2015 to 2018 period. This study is a qualitative research which utilizes primary and secondary data collected from previous studies, journals and books. Further used surveys. Foreign policy of a country plays a key role in conducting cordial relations in international arena. Additionally, the nature of the foreign policy of the country is changing due to the changes in leadership and governments. Most of the time, according to the governing party that country’s foreign policy reshapes. President Sirisena and Prime Minister Wickramasinghe’s foreign policies are different from the previous government.