Conference in Colombo: Regional Dialogue on Reclaiming Democracy- Perspectives from the Global South
As part of the Global Forum on Democracy and Development project, our hub in Colombo, Sri Lanka, the Social Scientists’ Association convened a conference titled “Regional Dialogue on Reclaiming Democracy- Perspectives from the Global South” on March 8t and 9, 2025.
The conference consisted of 5 panels which explored changing discourse on democracy.
The conference began with introductory remarks from Prof. Jayadeva Uyangoda, Dr. David Karas, Prof. Erdem Yörük, and Dr. Pradeep Peiris. They commented on the need to broaden the discourse on democracy and the value of imbuing it with regional knowledge. Dr. Karas and Prof. Yörük introduced the GFDD project, with Prof. Yoruk describing his experiences during the fellowship programme in Sri Lanka.
Day one of the conference consisted of 3 panels. The first was moderated by Dr. Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu and included Prof. Jayadeva Uyangoda, Prof. Yogendra Yadav, Mr. Dipak Gyawali, and Prof. Erdem Yörük. This panel placed emphasis on the crisis in democracy while highlighting the historiography of the ideology, its current trends in South Asia, and the state of social welfare in the Global South.
The second panel of the day was moderated by Dr. Crystal Baines. The panelists for the session were Dr. Madhulika Banerjee, Prof. Sandeep Shastri, Prof. Tawfique Haque, and Dr. Ian Karusigarira. This panel was built around the theme of people’s dissent and local knowledge systems within democracy- it elucidated the need to expand democratic imaginaries through the study of the recent people’s uprisings/protests and grassroots indigenous knowledge systems.
The final panel was moderated by Dr. Nazan Üstündağ. Prof. Farzana Haniffa, Dr. Francesca Chiarvesio, Dr. Jani De Silva, and Dr. Gennadii Iakovlev presented on this panel. This panel sought to understand the relationship between democracy and authoritarianism. Special focus was placed on impunity, the status of the minority in democratic societies, and language patterns which can be used to assess polarisation in contemporary politics.
The second day of the conference began with the 4th panel which was moderated by Dr. Madhuranga Kalugampitiya. It included Dr. Sumathy Sivamohan, Dr Anubha Anushree, Dr. Asad Ur Rehman, and Dr. Devaka Gunawardena. This panel focused on the theme of labour and development.
The conference concluded with a final panel which was moderated by Prof. Shamala Kumar. It consisted of Dr. Nazan Üstündağ, Dr. Pooja Kalita, and Dr. Sarah F. Thompson. The panel was centred on the theme of gender and democracy.
SSA also hosted a discussion entitled Political Futures in South Asia: Does Democracy have a Place?. The panel consisted of Mr. Balasingham Skanthakumar, Mr. Dipak Gywali, Prof. Tawfique Haque, Prof. Yogendra Yadav and was moderated by Dr. Shakunthala Kadirgamar. They discussed the state of democracy in Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, and India respectively.
The discussion was structured around three main questions- What is the status of democracy in each country? What are the key factors driving democratic change in those respective countries? and what is the future of democracy in South Asia? The final question in particular drew some spirited responses from the panelists as they reflected on the current right-wing trajectories of global democracies and its impact on the uncertain political, cultural, and ecological futures in South Asia. The discussion was followed by a lively Q&A session.
Photo credit: Social Scientists’ Association, Colombo, Sri Lanka
Image courtesy of SzakacsJ@ceu.edu | OSUN Forum
