Kanishka Jayasuriya, in East Asia Forum, 27 November 2019, where the title reads “The Sri Lankan election and authoritarian populism” … with highlights initiated by The Editor, Thuppahi
The election on 16 November 2019 of Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa — the brother of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa — ushers in an authoritarian populist regime that upholds a form of ethno-religious nationalism. The foundation of such a regime is in the new bourgeoisie that has emerged over the last two decades.