Valuable research study on Sri Lanka’s foreign Policy

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Title :Sri Lanka and the Powers
Author :Prof. Birty Gajameragedara
Published by Godage International Publishers (Pvt) Ltd., 2011
Reviewed by Prof. Amal Jayawardane

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The full title of the book reads as: Sri Lanka and the Powers: An Investigation into Sri Lanka's Relations with Britain, India, United States, Soviet Union and China, from Mid-Forties to Mid-Seventies. This book is based on a five- year research study carried out by the author for his Ph.D. dissertation submitted to the University of Sussex, U.K., in 1977. I first read Birty Gajameragedara's doctoral dissertation while on sabbatical leave at the London School of Economics in 1989.

Upon realizing the scholarly value of this solid piece of historical research, I urged Birty to publish it for the benefit of a wider audience. I am pleasantly surprised and very pleased to see this work finally published 35 years after it was originally written.

The writer has used an extensive collection of material for this research study. In addition to the material available in Sri Lanka, he has also consulted library collections at several British institutions such as the London School of Economics, the Royal Institute of International Affairs, the British Museum, the University of Sussex, the International Institute of Strategic Studies, and the Institute of Commonwealth Studies. He has used this material with skill and sensitivity, and his firm grasp of the concepts and theoretical approaches in the field of International Relations is clearly evident in this work.

Fine discussion

This book provides an interesting and well-documented discussion of Sri Lanka's foreign policy during the first three decades after independence. The introductory chapter deals with the major determinants of Sri Lanka's foreign policy - domestic structures as well as systemic factors. The author provides an exhaustive discussion on linkages between domestic politics and foreign policy. The impact of Sri Lanka's party politics, economic imperatives and geo-political setting on foreign policymaking has been analyzed in great detail. The external compulsions on Sri Lanka's foreign policy have also been discussed under three headings: the balance of forces in South Asia, the North -South polarization and the global balance of forces.

The next five chapters are devoted to discussing Sri Lanka's external relations with five major powers - Britain, India, the United States, the Soviet Union and China.

The author has analyzed Sri Lanka's external relations from the theoretical perspective of small power-major power interaction.

As the author argues, the thrust of Sri Lanka's foreign policy after 1956 was to establish "well- balanced relationships" with all the great powers. During the 1948-56 period, Sri Lanka followed a pro-Western foreign policy and established no diplomatic relations with the socialist countries. It should be noted, however, that even during the period of UNP regimes from 1948-56, Sri Lanka avoided joining defence organizations such as SEATO.

The imbalance in Sri Lanka's foreign policy was rectified after 1956 with the establishment of political and cultural relations with the socialist countries. The British-led foreign policy of Sri Lanka came to an end in 1956; however, as the author has suggested, Mr.S.W.R.D.Bandaranaike attempted "with extreme caution" to maintain friendly bilateral relations with Britain and the US.

Elements

This "balanced approach" was characterized by two elements: rejection of formal alliances and the policy of "friendship with all." This was the essence of Sri Lanka's policy of nonalignment. As the author argues, Sri Lanka was able to continue with this policy because, such a policy "proved fundamentally acceptable both to the five relevant major powers and the country's leading political elite" (P. 385).

The policy of nonalignment also had a practical relevance to the country, which was able to assert its independence while safeguarding its security and economic interests. Non-alignment remained the guiding principle of Sri Lanka's foreign policy right throughout the period under discussion. Despite the Dudley Senanayake government's pro-Western foreign policy orientation (1965-70), there was no rupture in Sri Lanka's general policy of nonalignment. For a small country like Sri Lanka, it was no easy task to maintain " balanced-relations" with major powers who had adversarial relations amongst themselves.

The 1960s offered a very complicated world picture with two major conflicts flaring up in the Asian region - the Sino-Indian conflict on the one hand, and the Sino-Soviet conflict on the other. This study shows how Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike succeeded in building up special relations with both India and China without getting embroiled in the Sino-Indian conflict. Sri Lanka's handling of the Sino-Soviet conflict was praised, even by the opposition. During the debate of the 1964 Throne Speech, opposition member J.R. Jayewardene said: "Today the world picture is changing. There is trouble between Russia and China. I am glad this government is not entering into that dispute" (297).

Perennial problems

The author also highlights one of the perennial problems that Sri Lanka had to face in the conduct of its foreign policy. The Soviet Union gave a considerable amount of project aid to Sri Lanka earmarked for industrial projects which helped to diversify the country's economy. By the mid-1960s however Sri Lanka found it difficult to expand this type of economic cooperation with the Soviet bloc.

The West had cut-off aid to Sri Lanka over the nationalization of Western oil companies and Sri Lanka was faced with an external payment crisis. What Sri Lanka badly needed at the time was not project aid but hard currency in order to meet its import bill.

To substantiate this argument, the author has quoted Dr. Gamini Corea who said: "aid was needed of a kind that would support an import programme rather than a series of miscellaneous projects" (p. 291). It was partly the external payment crisis that prompted Mrs. Bandaranaike's government towards the end of her regime to become more amenable towards the settlement of the dispute with the United States over the compensation issue. Sri Lanka's economy is such that the maintenance of friendly relations with the West has become essential.

This is a meticulously researched book, the value of which would have been enhanced if more attention had been paid to the technical aspects of editing and publishing - a substantial number of typographical errors which were not in the original dissertation have crept into the printed version. Technical issues notwithstanding, this publication is a valuable addition to the scholarly literature on Sri Lanka's foreign policy. This book deserves to be widely read by scholars, students, and others interested in international affairs.