Asanga Abeyagoonasekera

Asanga Abeyagoonasekera
අසංග අබේගුණසේකර
Asanga Abeyagoonasekera 2025
Born (1977-08-21) 21 August 1977
Colombo, Sri Lanka
Alma materAnanda College
Harvard Kennedy School
Edith Cowan University
SpouseKumudu[1]
WebsiteOfficial website

Asanga Abeyagoonasekera (Sinhala: අසංග අබේගුණසේකර; born 21 August 1977) is a Sri Lankan academic, geopolitics and foreign policy analyst.[2] He is the present Executive Director of the South Asia Foresight Network (SAFN) and a Senior Fellow at the Millennium Project in Washington DC since 2021.[3] He is a technical advisor to International Monetary Fund(IMF) contributed to 'Sri Lanka: Technical Assistance Report-Governance Diagnostic Assessment' published in 2023.[4] He is a political columnist[5] and author. He is a visiting professor for geopolitics and global leadership at Northern Kentucky University[6] and a visiting lecturer in International Political Economy for The University of London in Sri Lanka Royal Institute of Colombo and teaches at the International Security at University of Colombo. Abeyagoonasekera has more than a decade of experience in government administration, serving as the head of several government institutions and positions at the board level. His commentaries on International Relations and Geopolitics are published by Observer Research Foundation New Delhi,[7] London School of Economics[8] and South Asia Journal.[9] Abeyagoonasekera writes the monthly column Dateline Colombo [10] for IPCS think tank in New Delhi.

Abeyagoonasekera is the former founding director general of the Institute of National Security Studies Sri Lanka (INSSSL).[11] He was the former Executive Director of the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute of International Relations and Strategic Studies (LKIIRSS) which is a Sri Lankan government foreign policy think tank.[12][13]

Early life and career

Abeyagoonasekera is the only son of Ossie Abeygunasekera, who was the leader of Sri Lanka Mahajana Pakshaya (SLMP), presidential candidate and Member of Parliament from Colombo District. Ossie Abeygunasekera was assassinated by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) suicide attack in 1994.

His primary and secondary education was at S. Thomas' Preparatory School and Ananda College, he gained BSc in computer science and an MBA from the Edith Cowan University. He has studied at the Harvard Kennedy School, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, India School of Business, Oxford University and Yale University. He attended Harvard Kennedy School under the US-South Asia leadership program to study counter-terrorism.

He is a Fellow of the National Defense University Washington DC Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies NESA and Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies DKI-APCSS Hawaii and US State Department IVLP[14]

He began his career in Sri Lanka's telecommunication sector as a project manager at Sri Lanka Telecom and Hutchison Lanka from 2001 to 2005.

Abeyagoonasekera joined the government sector in 2005 and was appointed Chairman of the Ceylon Fishery Harbours Corporation (CFHC)[15][16][17] following the Asian tsunami in 2004 which destroyed many fishery harbours. He held the post until 2010 after the successful reconstruction of the fishery harbours and transforming the loss-making cooperation into profit.[18] He was appointed Chairman of the Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Agency in 2010[19][20] and served until 2011. Abeyagoonasekera was also on the board of directors of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority from 2005 to 2010.

He was appointed as Executive Director of the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute for International Relations and Strategic Studies government's foreign policy think tank under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. During his tenure, the institute published the first foreign policy research journal the 'Kadirgamar Review'[21] and conducted numerous research activities, including the post-war 'National Reconciliation Conference'.[22] In 2012, Kadirgamar Institute's first MOU with an Indian think tank ICWA was signed.[23]

On 10 April 2015, he was appointed as a board director at the Insurance Board of Sri Lanka (IBSL) by the Minister of Finance Ravi Karunanayake.[24] He served as a consultant to the Ministry of Finance until May 2016.

In 2016 August, he was appointed as the founding Director General of the new Security Think tank, the Institute of National Security Studies Sri Lanka.[25](INSS). During his tenure the institute published multiple defense and security publications.[26] In January 2019, Abeyagoonasekera presented a Monthly Threat Forecast (MTF) to President Maithripala Sirisena highlighting a national security threat; this warning was later referenced in the Presidential Commission of Inquiry on the Easter Attacks (PCOI) on the 2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, where he also testified. Abeyagoonasekera was immediately transferred from his position when President Gotabaya Rajapaksa came in to power. Abeyagoonasekera moved to the United States in 2021 and was arrested upon his return to Sri Lanka in July 2024, when he visited his ailing mother.

In 2012, Abeyagoonasekera established "Dirisaviya Foundation" a non-governmental not for profit foundation which operates several initiatives including ipaidabribe.lk,[27] a powerful global crowdsourced anticorruption website, the project Global Dignity for School Children,[28] and the Millennium Project Foresight initiative of Sri Lanka.[29] Dirisaviya Foundation also launched two mobile apps – Sri Dalada[30] and Sinhala Poets.[31] The foundation conducted the memorial lecture of the national hero Ven.S.Mahinda Thero.[32]

Abeyagoonasekera is the founding curator of the Global Shapers Colombo Hub and the Global Dignity[1] Country Chair for Sri Lanka.

His research work on international relations and geopolitics is published by Routledge, IGI, NUS ISAS, Emerald, Cambridge University, Hudson Institute, South Asia Journal, ORF India, LSE and IPCS.

In 2025 weeks after Nepal Gen-Z uprising, Abeyagoonasekera launched an Economic Crime & Geopolitics Index(ECGI) developed and conceptualized by him to understand political risk in South Asia and Southeast Asia. The Millennium Project in Washington DC endorsed the Index as "a new international tool aims to shed light on how corruption, illicit finance, and global power struggles interact to shape political and economic stability". The Philippines Inquirer News highlighted the ECGI as a “forward-looking early-warning mechanism” for governments, investors and security analysts. ABS-CBN News interviewed Abeyagoonasekera on the Economic Crime & Geopolitics Index(ECGI) on 1st October 2025.

Recognition

In 2012, he was recognized as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.[33]

In 2015, he was awarded 'Ambassador of Knowledge' from the Life learning Academia in Slovenia[34]

In 2021, he was appointed to the 'Global Advisory council' at the Apolitical Academy Global (AAG) along with the former three-time New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark and several other distinguished individuals.[35]

Towards a Better World Order

In 2015, Abeyagoonasekera published the book Towards a Better World Order.[36]

The Modi Doctrine

In 2016, he authored a chapter for The Modi Doctrine: New Paradigms in India’s Foreign Policy[37]

Sri Lanka at Crossroads

In 2018, he authored Sri Lanka at Crossroads: Geopolitical challenges and National Interests,[38] published by World Scientific Singapore.[39] The book was endorsed by former national security advisor of India Shivshankar Menon, former foreign Minister Singapore George Yeo, and many other academics from around the world. In the book, Abeyagoonasekera revisits Halford Mackinder's geopolitical theories while highlighting the geostrategic importance of Sri Lanka.[40]

Written from the perspective of a Sri Lankan academic and the head of the national security think tank, this book offers insights into how the country has addressed its post-conflict as well as geopolitical challenges, navigated through domestic politics, and ramped up peace-building efforts, to now reach a junction where it can put its foot firmly on the road to prosperity in a new Asian world order.[41]

Conundrum of an Island

In 2021, he authored Conundrum of an Island,[42] published by World Scientific Singapore.[43] The book was endorsed by Prof.Walter Russell Mead, Dr.Parag Khanna, Dr.C.Raja Mohan, Dr.David Brewster and several other distinguished academics.

This book is a compilation of essays on several themes intended to provoke thought on and promote understanding about everyday political and social life on an island facing constant geopolitical and domestic political challenges. The themes of this book are: 4/21 Terror Attack and National Security; China, Belt and Road Initiative and Sri Lankan Foreign Policy; Geopolitics; Sustaining Democracy and Facing a Pandemic; and Domestic Political Stability, Leadership and Economic Crime.[44]


Teardrop Diplomacy

In 2023, he authored Teardrop Diplomacy: China's Sri Lanka Foray,[45] published by Bloomsbury.[45] The book was endorsed by Dr. David Brewster, Dr.C. Raja Mohan, Dr. Roger Kangas, Daniel Sachs, Lisa Witter and several other academics. Abeyagoonasekera introduces the concept of China's "strategic trap" in Sri Lanka and the implications to Sri Lankan foreign policy during the rule of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.[46]

Sri Lanka, the teardrop-shaped island in the Indian Ocean, is facing its worst political–economic crisis since independence. This book is a compilation of essays on several themes which trace the nation's recent journey, from the rise of the Rajapaksa regime in 2019 to the present crisis in 2022. The essays explain how the nation moved from a democratic country to a full-scale autocratic, militarized nation. The US–India–China triangulation and its impact on Sri Lanka are also captured in this book, bringing a unique Sri Lankan perspective.[47]

The Sacred Tooth Relic of Sri Lanka

He authored the children's book The Sacred Tooth Relic of Sri Lanka.[48]

References

  1. ^ a b "Asanga Abeyagoonasekera". Global Dignity. Archived from the original on 25 February 2016. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  2. ^ "Asanga Abeyagoonasekera".
  3. ^ "Launch of SAFN – SAFN". Archived from the original on 11 December 2023.
  4. ^ "Sri Lanka: Technical Assistance Report-Governance Diagnostic Assessment".
  5. ^ "IPCS | Institute Of Peace & Conflict Studies". www.ipcs.org. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  6. ^ "Faculty. Asanga Abeyagoonasekera".
  7. ^ "Asanga Abeyagoonasekera".
  8. ^ "Sri Lanka, China and the coming Biden Foreign Policy". 8 December 2020.
  9. ^ "A world Challenged by Geopolitical Tensions: The Global Risk Report 2022". 2 December 2023.
  10. ^ "IPCS | Institute of Peace & Conflict Studies".
  11. ^ "Asanga appointed DG of Institute of National Security Studies Sri Lanka | Daily FT". www.ft.lk. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  12. ^ "Island.lk: Asanga Abeyagoonasekera appointed Executive Director of LKIIRSS". Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  13. ^ "Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute for International Relations and Strategic Studies website". Archived from the original on 12 April 2016. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
  14. ^ "The Island". Archived from the original on 24 November 2016. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  15. ^ "Sri Lanka aims to make the best tuna in the world". sundaytimes.lk. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  16. ^ "Business Today: When You See a Barrier, Just Cross It Over". Archived from the original on 23 January 2021. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  17. ^ "Lanka Business Online: Going Deep – Sri Lanka starts whale watching". Archived from the original on 24 November 2012.
  18. ^ "|| Financial". archives.dailynews.lk. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  19. ^ "Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Agency - SLFEA". 12 November 2019. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  20. ^ Target.lk: Asanga Abeyagoonasekera Assumes Duties As Chairman Of Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Agency
  21. ^ "Release of the Kadirgamar Review, Volume 3 | Daily FT".
  22. ^ "Kadirgamar Institute launches conference report on 'Role of Religion in Reconciliation' | Daily FT".
  23. ^ "Kadirgamar Institute links up with the Indian Council of World Affairs in New Delhi". www.sundaytimes.lk. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  24. ^ "Asanga Abeyagoonasekera appointed as Board Director for IBSL". News.lk. 13 April 2015. Archived from the original on 16 February 2016. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  25. ^ "Asanga appointed DG of Institute of National Security Studies Sri Lanka | Daily FT".
  26. ^ https://www.pressreader.com/sri-lanka/daily-mirror-sri-lanka/20190821/282548724922673. Retrieved 13 October 2023 – via PressReader. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  27. ^ "I Paid A Bribe | Report Now". Ipaidabribe.lk. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
  28. ^ "Global Dignity". Global Dignity. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
  29. ^ "Press". Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  30. ^ "Sri Dalada App on the App Store". iTunes. Archived from the original on 21 September 2016. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
  31. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 27 September 2016. Retrieved 16 June 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  32. ^ "S. Mahinda himi Gunasamaruwa VTS_01_1.mp4 – YouTube". YouTube. 23 November 2016.
  33. ^ "Asanga Abeyagoonasekera". Global Shapers Community. Archived from the original on 16 February 2016. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  34. ^ "LankaWeb – Ambassador of Knowledge awarded to Asanga Abeyagoonasekera".
  35. ^ "Ceylon Today". Archived from the original on 21 April 2021.
  36. ^ "None". Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  37. ^ "Asanga Abeyagoonasekera contributes chapter to 'Modi Doctrine: New Paradigms in India's Foreign Poli | Daily FT".
  38. ^ Sri Lanka at Crossroads: Geopolitical Challenges and National Interests. World Scientific. 4 January 2019.
  39. ^ Abeyagoonasekera, Asanga (2019). Sri Lanka at Crossroads. doi:10.1142/11167. ISBN 978-981-327-672-7. S2CID 158838891.
  40. ^ Singh, Swaran (28 December 2018). "'Sri Lanka at Crossroads': Geopolitical Challenges and National Interests". Daily News. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  41. ^ Abeyagoonasekera, Asanga (2019). Sri Lanka at Crossroads. doi:10.1142/11167. ISBN 978-981-327-672-7. Retrieved 25 October 2025. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  42. ^ Conundrum of an Island: Sri Lanka's Geopolitical Challenges. World Scientific. 15 January 2021.
  43. ^ Abeyagoonasekera, Asanga (2021). Conundrum of an Island. doi:10.1142/12028. ISBN 978-981-12-2784-4. S2CID 224866292.
  44. ^ Abeyagoonasekera, Asanga (2021). Conundrum of an Island. doi:10.1142/12028. ISBN 978-981-12-2784-4. Retrieved 25 October 2025. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  45. ^ a b "Teardrop Diplomacy".
  46. ^ Abeyagoonasekera, Asanga (18 February 2023). Teardrop Diplomacy China's Sri Lanka Foray. Bloomsbury India. ISBN 978-9356401204.
  47. ^ bloomsbury.com. "Teardrop Diplomacy". Bloomsbury. Archived from the original on 7 August 2025. Retrieved 25 October 2025.
  48. ^ The Sacred Tooth Relic of Sri Lanka. Asanga Abeyagoonasekera. 25 February 2016.
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