India's foreign policy in Sri Lanka : the influence of China and Tamil Nadu on the reconciliation process of post-war Sri Lanka

This paper identifies Indian foreign policy as an important source of influence in the post-war reconciliation processes in Sri Lanka, given the close relations it shares with the government of Sri Lanka (GOSL). India’s regional influence and proximity to Sri Lanka as well its historical involvement in the political solution for the Tamil minorities makes it a significant actor within Sri Lanka’s domestic processes. The paper attempts to demonstrate how Indian objectives can often be contradictory in nature, especially when external and internal factors compete to shape the outcome of foreign policy decisions. The inability to join the political and economic objectives vis-á-vis Sri Lanka continues to make India vulnerable to pressures from both China and internal domestic political parties of Tamil Nadu. These competing demands often force India to walk the tight-rope in its foreign policy decision making in Sri Lanka and limit its influence in the reconciliation and peace-building processes. The paper uses the neoclassical realist paradigm to understand the constraints of domestic and systemic factors on foreign policy. The paper also identifies internal factors within the Sri Lankan state and its military, such as the increasing political consolidation of the present regime and the militarisation of the political economy in the North-East region of Sri Lanka, as additional factors that inhibit India’s influence on post-war Sri Lanka.Master of Science (Strategic Studies