Constitutional Crises and Institutional Costs

FREE EVENT

5.45 PM - Registration begins
5.50 PM - Introduction to the Nightwatchman Society
6.00 - 7.00 PM - Insights by Dr. Asanga Welikala
7.00 PM – 7.30 PM - Q&A

• About the talk

Sri Lanka was plunged into a major constitutional crisis on the night of 26 October 2018. The outcome, an attempt at 'democratic backsliding' ended with a demonstration of 'institutional resilience', although deeper questions about political culture remain that work against an overoptimistic assessment of the crisis.

This talk will examine the institutional and cultural aspects of Sri Lanka’s constitutional system, in the light of historical precedents, to outline some of the lessons we must learn. It will also argue that the potential for bad governance and unconstitutional behaviour that remains in our political system has a high hidden cost that explains, aside from any solely technical or economic policy explanation, how Sri Lanka's chronic economic underperformance and inequality derives directly from bad institutions and the structure of socially undesirable incentives they create for political actors.

• What to bring

An open mind and your friends who'd like a good discussion on ideas around society, the role of the state and individuals.

• About the speaker

Dr. Asanga Welikala is Lecturer in Public Law at the School of Law, University of Edinburgh, and the Acting Director of the Edinburgh Centre for Constitutional Law. He is also a Research Associate of the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London, and a Research Fellow of the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA), Sri Lanka.

Asanga's research interests lie in comparative constitutional law, applied constitutional theory, and Commonwealth constitutional history. He teaches and supervises across the public law field in Edinburgh, at Ordinary, Honours, masters, and doctoral levels. Asanga has been involved on both sides of transnational influence on constitution-making: as a member of the Office of Constitutional Support, United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq; in various international advisory capacities in other countries on constitutional and legal reform issues; and as an active civil society voice and an independent expert in the current constitution-making process in Sri Lanka.