Pri's blog

  The 10 th Global South Women’s Forum (GSWF 2025)  convened by the International Women’s Rights Action Watch Asia Pacific , aimed to claim the multilateralism system as rightfully ours.  As it functions currently, the multilateral system does not work for us,  i.e. women of the Global South.   Alma Rosa Colin Colin from Mexico and working with Equidad de Género: Ciudadanía, Trabajo y Familia , a participant at the GSWF 2025 observed that if we want a system that can break the relations that tie us to the dynamics of dependence, inequality and injustice, we must wonder if multilateralism ever worked for us.  I would say that it hasn’t. I would go a step further and say that if one defines multilateralism as an alliance of countries pursuing a common goal based on principles of inclusivity, equality and cooperation to foster a more peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world, then the multilateral system as we know it didn’t just not work for us, it ...

  The Bandaranaike Centre for International Studies (BCIS) was 50 last year. It was a cause  for celebration and spawned, among other things, the Festival of Ideas where BCIS created  an open space for engagement with a wide range of new stakeholders. It was also the year  that we applied for and successfully secured institutional accreditation with the Ministry of  Higher Education and acquired degree awarding status. In 2025, one year into the next half  century of our existence, we are working on creating opportunities for our students, our  lecturers, our staff, our governing body members and our public constituencies, to become  familiar with new, challenging trends in the global conversations around international  relations. We are aiming to strengthen our capacity to re-examine some of the well-worn  concepts of international relations theory, engage with global south perspectives and  alternatives, decolonise our epistemolo...

  It’s been 70 years since the Bandung Conference brought leaders of Asian and African countries together in a collective effort to forefront anti-colonial and anti-imperial struggles. Twenty-nine Asian and African countries attended and the 1955 conference symbolised a  ‘new spirit of solidarity of the Third World’ . The conference underscored two principles of Third World politics – decolonisation and development – and led to the establishment of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and an alternative conversation on how the world should be ordered including a proposal for a New International Economic Order (NIEO).  It was a time when Sri Lanka punched significantly above her weight – Mrs Sirimavo Bandaranaike was an acknowledged leader of NAM, Dr Gamani Corea pushed for more favourable trade terms for the global south from his position as the Secretary of UNCTAD, and Ambassador Shirley Amerasinghe pushed against international competition to acquire the resources of the sea b...