From Friendship to Dependency: Analysing Sri Lanka’s Foreign Policymaking Towards China

Bhagya Senaratne

From Friendship to Dependency: Analysing Sri Lanka’s Foreign Policymaking Towards China employs a Neoclassical Realist lens to analyse Sri Lanka’s foreign policymaking towards China, emphasising the domestic factors that shape decision-making processes. The book examines why Sri Lanka’s relations with China since the 1990s have been criticised for financial over-reliance and allegations of a ‘debt trap.’ It argues that these relations are deeply influenced by domestic political dynamics, including the roles of state leaders, foreign policy executives, and strategic culture. Offering a nuanced understanding of Sri Lanka-China relations, this study uniquely analyses bilateral relations from a Sri Lankan perspective, granting agency to the decision-making processes adopted by Sri Lankan bureaucrats and shifting the focus away from the PRC’s positionality. Essential reading for policymakers, students, and researchers in foreign policy and International Relations, this book sheds light on who shapes foreign policy, how decisions are made, and proposes an alternative approach to understanding Sri Lanka’s strategic choices.

Bhagya Senaratne is Director of Education at the Bandaranaike Centre for International Studies, Sri Lanka. She was previously the inaugural BRI Postdoctoral Fellow of Global Asia at the Center for Global Asia, New York University Shanghai, China, and a Senior Lecturer at General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University, Sri Lanka. She co-edited Pakistan-Sri Lanka Relations: A Story of Friendship (2017) and Sri Lanka’s Post-Independence Defence Policy: Past, Present and Future Projections (2023). She completed her PhD in International Relations from the University of Colombo.

Contents

Foreword
Acknowledgements
Tables and Figures
Abbreviations

Introduction: From Friendship to Dependency

1. Sri Lanka-China Bilateral Relations: An Overview
2. Conceptual Framework: Neoclassical Realism as a Tool of Foreign Policy Analysis
3. The Political Landscape of Sri Lanka: A Contemporary Overview
4. Sri Lanka’s Strategic Culture
5. Key Drivers of Bilateral Economic Relations
6. Security Relations
7. Trends in Bilateral Relations

Conclusion

Appendix I: Business, Economic and Investment Delegations from and to China (Selected)
Appendix II: Major Projects Financed with Foreign Borrowings
Bibliography
Index