Abstract

This chapter examines Sri Lanka and its relations with South Asian countries. It considers the importance of the topic with regard to the regional context and the broader international context. First, the chapter summarizes the major theoretical schools under focus in this edited volume for interpreting Sri Lanka's international relations, including approaches that Sri Lankan academics are using to explain historical and contemporary developments on this topic. This section will also describe the potential to use the small states subfield as an additional analytic lens for this endeavor. Second, the chapter provides a brief empirical history of the country and highlights persistent themes in its international and domestic experiences. Then it considers major themes over the past decade and delves into an examination of Sri Lanka's bilateral relations with each South Asian country. The chapter concludes with a brief forecast of Sri Lanka's relations with South Asian countries for scholars of the region.