Browsing by Author "Jayasinghe, D.P.S.N."

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Chinese Language as a soft-power instrument in Sri Lanka
(Proceedings of the Undergraduate Research Symposium (HUG 2019), Department of International Studies, Faculty of Humanities, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2019) Jayasinghe, D.P.S.N.
The people‟s Republic of China is regarded as one of the most prominent countries which have utilized their soft power in order to expand their influence. PRC attempts to use its economic power through debt-trap diplomacy and language/cultural influence to gain over South Asia. Whilst Belt and Road Initiative is the main economic mechanism endorsed by President Xi, Chinese language teaching through Confucius Institutes has been able to propagate their cultural influence. Confucius Institute is a public educational organization under the ministry of education of the people‟s republic of China. Although the stated aims of the institute are to promote Chinese language and culture, support local Chinese teaching internationally and facilitate cultural exchanges, scholars have raised concerns over their subsidiary role in attaining non-academicgoals such as expanding China‟s economic, and diplomatic reach through the promotion of Chinese language, intelligence collection and influencing host countries‟ perspectives on China. Although previous studies have captured the popularity of learning Chinese as a foreign language among Sri Lankan universities, there has been less focus on the strategic manipulation of Chinese language teaching to establish influence over Sri Lanka as a soft power paradigm. Against this backdrop, this study provides an in-depth analysis of China‟s usage and implication of soft power through Confucius's institution of the University of Kelaniya, general and special degree programs atthe University of Sabaragamuwa and University of Kelaniya and Confucius classroom. To conduct this research, both qualitative and quantitative methods were used. Questionnaires and Interviews were used to collect primary data while online sources, journals, and reports were used to collect secondary data. To analyze the collected data descriptive analyzing method was employed. The research findings suggest that while providing many academic opportunities to Sri Lankan undergraduates, Confucius institute and the Chinese language degree programs in Kelaniya and Sabaragamuwa universities have been hubs of China‟s overseas propaganda set-up which also thrive in uplifting China‟s image.
The Political Influence of Easter Sunday Terror Attacks
(Department of International Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Kelaniya, 2019) Jayasinghe, D.P.S.N.
ISIS-inspired Easter Sunday terror attacks on several churches and luxury hotels claimed more than two hundred lives. Sri Lanka’s presidential election took place approximately seven months after the terror attacks and it was deemed unprecedentedly fierce since a son of former president and a brother of former president were the front runners. While Mr. Sajith Premadasa, the former deputy leader of UNP contested from United Democratic Front as the presidential candidate, Mr. Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, former Secretary, Ministry of Defense during Rajapaksa regime contested under Sri Lanka Podu Jana Peramuna. The political manifestos of the two front runners highlighted many principal areas such as uplifting the country’s stagnant economy by reducing poverty, uplifting the health and education sectors, and predominantly, curtailing religious extremism. After Easter Sunday attacks, the depreciation of the rupee against the US dollar was high. Especially the tourism industry inclusive of tourism-oriented entrepreneurships, had taken a massive descend. Although S. Premadasa is politically experienced than his opponent, the votes of the majority proved that the national security concern is the foremost precedence. While, many scholars confirmed that PM Modi exploited Sri Lanka's recent terror attacks to ensure BJP’s Lok Sabha victory by implying the vigilance of RAW, the study examines whether there is an influence of Easter Sunday attacks to Gotabaya Rajapaksa's victory. The research problem focuses on the influence of the terror attacks on the presidential election results. To achieve aforesaid objective, qualitative approach has been adopted predominantly based on secondary data obtained from various sources such as e-books, research articles, journals, reports, and political manifestos. The research findings suggest that the indecisiveness of the Yahapalana coalition government led to the successful execution of April terror attacks, which negatively affected Premadasa’s political campaign. Furthermore, this study concludes that the public’s disappointment towards the former government in light of its failure to guarantee the national security prior to Easter attacks was an incentive towards Gotabhaya’s victory.