Prime Minister of Sri Lanka Dr Harini Amarasuriya delivers OSGA Annual Lecture
Dr Harini Amarasuriya, Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, delivered the 2026 OSGA Annual Lecture at St Antony’s College, University of Oxford, on Tuesday 19 May.
Dr Harini Amarsuriya, Prime Minister of Sri Lanka and Diego Sanchez-Ancochea, Head of Department (OSGA)
Speaking to an audience of students and academics from OSGA and across the University, the Prime Minister reflected on the intersections of development, governance and politics in Sri Lanka, and considered the wider implications for development policy and political reform.
In her lecture, titled “The politics of development: Sri Lanka and beyond”, Dr Amarasuriya discussed what happens when development theory meets the “messy reality” of politics and governance. She focused in particular on questions of gender equality, highlighting how grassroots women’s groups have improved women’s participation and representation in politics in Sri Lanka. She also reflected on how, as the country’s third female Prime Minister, she is grappling with issues such as the paid and unpaid care economy and working conditions in the female-dominated garment industry, as Sri Lanka continues to recover from economic crisis.
Drawing on her experience as Prime Minister, as well as her background as a social anthropologist, activist and development practitioner, Dr Amarasuriya explored the challenges of delivering and sustaining meaningful reform in complex political and institutional contexts. In particular, she highlighted the difficulties of ensuring international agencies engage productively and effectively with local institutions.
The lecture was followed by a stimulating audience Q&A, which touched on topics ranging from what it means for institutions such as the judiciary to be independent, to managing the pace of political change and navigating the tension between the ideological purity of academia and the pragmatism of politics.
The Oxford School of Global and Area Studies (OSGA) is committed to understanding cultural, economic, political and social questions through the study of world regions in local, global and comparative contexts. The OSGA Annual Lecture is the department’s flagship event, bringing leading academics, policymakers and practitioners to Oxford to reflect on contemporary global challenges and their impact across different parts of the world.
Professor Diego Sanchez-Ancochea, Head of Department at OSGA, said:
“We were honoured to welcome Dr Amarasuriya to Oxford to deliver the OSGA Annual Lecture. She offered an important and timely reflection on the relationship between politics and development, drawing on both scholarly insight and direct political experience.”
