Bailing Out the Creditors

After months of unrest, Sri Lanka's government negotiated a bailout with the IMF earlier this year. The raft of neoliberal reforms it foresees will do little to help the economy, but will send millions more into poverty.

Sri Lanka’s debt crisis also contains a geopolitical dimension, as the country finds itself trapped in the “great game” playing out between India and China in the Indian Ocean, as both regional hegemons are eager to keep Sri Lanka in their respective strategic orbit.