Build Consensus for Sustainable Change

The government is being judicious in reading the signs of the time. The country continues to be in the throes of the economic crisis that it inherited. It faces formidable challenges in confronting a combined opposition that governed Sri Lanka for the past 76 years. In addition, the world is in crisis with international law being openly disregarded in the joint US-Israel bombardment of Iran’s nuclear sites. Faced with such turbulence, there is a need to tread carefully in this context and not get out of depth in experimenting with change based on ideological conviction. Governments of small and less developed countries especially need to balance their ideological visions with the structural constraints imposed by global power politics.

- BY JEHAN PERERA

The government appears to be fully cognizant of international power structures. This can be seen in the manner it is seeking to overcome the economic crisis. The government leadership's ideological roots are Marxist, yet they are not making a critique of the global capitalist system and its power structures, such as the International Monetary Fund, the global lender of last resort, in order to blaze a new path. Instead, the government is acting in conformity with the IMF prescription to overcome the economic crisis. Such strategic conformity aligns with what theorists of structural realism would describe as “balancing behaviour”. There is an acknowledgement of the power of global institutions and aligning national policies accordingly.

When viewed through the lens of global finance, the IMF epitomises the prevailing interntional economic power structure that is led by the United States. The IMF prescription is not reducing the inequitable burden of economic hardship that the masses of Sri Lankan people are forced to bear. The government is fulfilling most of the terms of the debt restructuring agreement that the former government led by President Ranil Wickremesinghe agreed to. The government’s determination to follow through on the IMF agreement is due to its recognition that it has found no viable alternative to it. The high-level IMF delegation that visited Sri Lanka from 15-16 June 2025 were received positively. The negotiations that took place were part of ongoing dialogue around the IMF bailout and targeted debt restructuring.

Dual Crisis