On January 14, the South Asia Center hosted a discussion, “Foreign Intervention in South Asia: A Case Study from Sri Lanka” with Mark Salter, Author of To End a Civil War; Erik Solheim, Chief Negotatior of the Sri Lanka peace process; and Richard L. Armitage, President, Armitage International, L.C.

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Across South Asia, external actors have often intervened to mediate conflict and build stability. Despite best efforts and often better resources, international involvement in South Asian conflicts has often faltered from lack of local support or consensus coupled with concerns over sovereignty. This was the case in Sri Lanka, where a five-year long Norwegian-led mediation process between the Tamil Tigers and Sri Lankan government unraveled, in part, due to a failure in securing bipartisan political support. The South Asia Center convened a panel of experts to discuss Norway’s experience mediating conflict in Sri Lanka, and explored the role foreign actors play in South Asia more broadly.