Wednesday Feb 25, 2026
Wednesday Feb 25, 2026
Wednesday, 25 February 2026 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
The Research Wing of the Bandaranaike Academy for Leadership and Public Policy (BALPP) has released a new policy brief co-authored by Senior Researcher Shayani Jayasinghe and University of Colombo International Relations Lecturer Shakthi De Silva titled “Policy and Power: Leadership Lessons from China’s Global Strategy and India’s Economic Ascent”.
The policy brief distills the key insights emerging from a high-level roundtable discussion convened by BALPP on 7 November, 2025, which brought together experts in foreign policy, international trade, governance, and strategic leadership. The discussion explored the relationship between leadership models and national development strategies in an increasingly complex global environment.
Drawing on a comparative analysis of China’s centralised, long-term strategic planning and India’s democratic and reform-driven economic expansion, the brief examines how leadership structures influence policy continuity, institutional capacity, and national transformation. It highlights the ways in which different governance approaches have enabled both countries to pursue sustained economic and strategic advancement.
The brief also identifies key lessons for Sri Lanka, emphasising the importance of strengthening governance frameworks, enhancing strategic autonomy, and building institutional resilience. Furthermore, it advocates a strategy of selective adaptation of international best practices, firmly anchored in democratic accountability and aligned with Sri Lanka’s institutional context.
The publication is intended to contribute to ongoing policy discussions on leadership, governance, and long-term development planning in Sri Lanka and can be downloaded from the following link: https://balpp.com/publications/
