Sustainability beyond boundaries: Global perspective and vitality to Sri Lanka

THE contents of this article are excerpts from an address delivered by the undersigned on 31 January 2026 at the Sri Lanka Student Association of Japan at the Embassy of Sri Lanka under the auspices of the Conference Chair, Sr. Prof.

- By Prof. A. Saj U. Mendis, PhD

N. S. Cooray of International University of Japan and graced by the Chief Guest, Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Japan, Prof. Pivithuru Janak Kumarasinghe as well as other distinguished speakers.Today, the world is confronted and tested by geopolitical, geo-economic and geo-strategic issues and developments, which one could state a period of unprecedented volatility and instability, probably, most experienced during the last 80 years. Many use the terms geopolitical and geo-economic without knowing the genesis or the specific meaning of those terms. In the beginning of the 20th Century, the term geo-economic was used but it was Edward Luttak, US Grand Strategist, who popularised the term in 1990s. The term geopolitics too entered the English lexicon during the same period of beginning of 20th century coined by Swedish political scientist, Rudolf Kjellen. It is imperative to observe that both these attributes, which have become omnipresent in intellectual and political discourse today, most often coincide and intersect, which is being leveraged by more powerful nations to advance and to attain their intrinsic utility at the cost of less powerful nations. The concept of “Economic Statecraft” in the sphere of geo-economics, was credited to David Baldwin in his seminal work in 1985. Today, without much surprise, one could witness both highly advanced and less endowed smaller nations executing or responding to “Economic Statecraft” to varying degrees and reach vis-à-vis export and import controls, tariffs, sanctions, finance and technology, trade agreements, migration, energy supply and investments, amongst others. Since the end of WW II, this craft or pivot has been used more widely and with greater scope instead of military force. Again, it is lucidly understood that the more powerful and advanced nations could attain their inherent national objectives with greater ease and with lesser cost by employing Economic Statecraft, with efficacy.