Democracy seems to be in danger in East Asia. Recently, there has been much turbulence in the region because of immoral and unstable government institutions that refuse to relinquish power in a peaceful and democratic fashion. Most notably, there has been recent troubles in Sri Lanka. This is a nation that democratic world leaders would like to see become a democracy and allow them to fix their ailing economy and governmental institutions.
In Sri Lanka, the President and Prime Minister are at odds with each other, and that’s creating incredible political discourse and instability. The Sri Lankan President even attempted to illegally fire the current Prime Minister and appoint a new one who wouldn’t oppose the President’s will. The coup failed and the Prime Minister was reinstated, but there is still a lot of bad blood between the two feuding leaders.
The President at one point moved to dissolve Parliament when there were several votes of no confidence against his illegally appointed new Prime Minister. The original Prime Minister affirmed that his position is legitimate, as Parliament voted in confidence for him.
This political power struggle has caused several issues for the country. The national economy is suffering because of a severe downturn of tourism, foreign investment, and foreign aid. This has adversely affected the country’s credit, which is affecting their overall GDP. The recent coup has not helped their economy, showing international corporations and potential tourists that the country is deep in internal turmoil that could prove to be a catalyst for violence.
Had the coup succeeded, the government would become significantly more authoritarian. The President and new Prime Minister would usher in a new era of political domination with Sri Lanka, and would do anything within their power to suppress any future attempts to unseat them. The Tamils and Muslims–two minority groups in the country which is largely buddhist–would be even more discriminated against than they already are.