"Asanga Abeyagoonasekera's new work is an important example of Sri Lankan strategic thinking and a useful text for anyone hoping to understand the emerging dynamics of the Indo-Pacific."
Walter Russell Mead
for Conundrum of an Island (2021)
"Sri Lanka faces both longstanding domestic political and cultural fissures as well as a turbulent Indo-Pacific strategic environment. There is no better guide to both than Asanga Abeyagoonasekera."
Parag Khanna Author of The Future is Asian and Connectography
for Conundrum of an Island (2021)
"As the maritime rivalries heat up in the Indo-Pacific and the world turns its attention to Sri Lanka at the heart of this strategic geography, Asanga Abeyagoonasekera offers rich insights into the strategic dynamics of the island nation. A good place to start for anyone interested in contemporary Sri Lanka."
C Raja Mohan Director, Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore
for Conundrum of an Island (2021)
"Beauty can be a curse. Sri Lanka is a jewel of an island perfectly positioned astride the sea lane connecting East and West ... Asanga analyses the internal and external challenges confronting Sri Lankan society and discusses ways of addressing them."
George Yeo Former Foreign Minister of Singapore
for Conundrum of an Island (2021)
"This book is a treasure trove of discussions by one of Sri Lanka's leading experts on the many dilemmas that the country now faces. For anyone wanting to understand Sri Lanka's contemporary foreign policy and security challenges, it is a must read."
David Brewster
Senior Research Fellow, National Security College, Australian National University
for Conundrum of an Island (2021)
"Conundrum of an Island offers readers a rare and comprehensive perspective on how Sri Lanka is observing, debating and addressing a moment of transition and turbulence in the regional order. It offers insider views on how the island's political and socio-economic changes are disrupting traditional institutions and foreign policy and vice-versa, how an increasingly competitive geoeconomic order is influencing Sri Lanka's developmental decisions and its balancing act between India, China, the United States and other powers. Ground-level insights and informed analysis from an increasingly central country in the Indo-Pacific.
Dr Constantino Xavier
Fellow, Foreign Policy and SecurityCentre for Social and Economic Progress, New Delhi, India
for Conundrum of an Island (2021)
"... a must read for national security scholars and practitioners ... examines the implications for Sri Lanka of Chinese growing footprint in the Indian Ocean."
Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan
Distinguished Fellow , Observer Research Foundation, India
for Conundrum of an Island (2021)
" The world is moving. The escalating US-China competition, rising tension in the India-China border,COVID-19 pandemic and the US presidential election are examples. What should Sri Lanka do? The book tried to answer. It is no doubt that this is an important book."