Event

Lecture Synopsis:

This lecture provides a comprehensive analysis of the recently concluded presidential elections in Sri Lanka, focusing on the responses of minority communities. It examines the critical factors that led to the rejection of the JVP-led alliance by minorities from the North and East. By exploring historical, political, and socio-economic dynamics, the lecture aims to offer insights into the complex relationship between minority populations and mainstream political movements in Sri Lanka, elucidating the underlying reasons for their electoral choices in this context.

Speaker Bio:

Dr. A.R.M. Imtiyaz is an affiliated faculty member at the South Asia Center at the University of Pennsylvania, USA. A native of Sri Lanka, he previously taught in the Political Science Department at South Eastern University of Sri Lanka (1995-2002), the Political Science Department at Temple University (2009-2016), and in the Department of History at Nanjing University, China (2016-2020). His research focuses on nationalism and ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka and China, and he has published extensively in leading peer-reviewed journals such as World Affairs, Asian Ethnicity, Journal of Asian and African Studies, and South Asia.