Mark Salter is a journalist, analyst and writer on democracy, conflict, reconciliation and diversity management, and the author of From Independence to Aragalaya and To End a Civil War.https://www.marksalter.org/en-gbhttps://www.marksalter.org/all-my-domain/https://www.marksalter.org/all-my-domain/After months of my website showing 'critical error: avoid at all costs', or some such: with some serious help from my eldest son Jonathan - blessed be his name - and a far more tech savvie person than I, it's now been relaunched in a modern, new-look, and most importantly functioning mode. Amazing…Sun, 11 Oct 2026 16:05:00 GMThttps://www.marksalter.org/the-great-divide/https://www.marksalter.org/the-great-divide/Here's my latest piece of Sri Lankan political commentary for the DailyFT. It addresses the recent arrest of former president Ranil Wickremesinghe on alleged corruption charges - an issue that has brought sharp divisions in public opinion to the fore.Sun, 31 Aug 2025 17:56:02 GMThttps://www.marksalter.org/unsilenced-neelan-tiruchelvam-revisited/https://www.marksalter.org/unsilenced-neelan-tiruchelvam-revisited/Here's my review, published today in Sri Lanka's DailyFT, of a new documentary about the life - and death - of the courageous and farsighted Tamil intellectual cum politician Neelan Tiruchelvam, assassinated by the LTTE in summer 1999.Fri, 08 Aug 2025 18:29:21 GMThttps://www.marksalter.org/the-new-book/https://www.marksalter.org/the-new-book/Here's a longish and rather nice Lankan media prequel to my new/forthcoming book, drawing on an interview I did recently for Jurist.org. Ceylon Today, 9 June 2025 (PDF)Tue, 10 Jun 2025 10:42:04 GMThttps://www.marksalter.org/the-red-banner-still-flying-here/https://www.marksalter.org/the-red-banner-still-flying-here/In Sri Lanka as everywhere 1 May – Labour Day – 2025 is now a thing of the past. Except not in Colombo, largely thanks to the image reproduced above of President Dissanayake, snapped by award-winning local photographer Lahiru Harshana, captured in an intense, seemingly quasi-religious moment during…Mon, 05 May 2025 16:33:53 GMThttps://www.marksalter.org/the-illegals/https://www.marksalter.org/the-illegals/I’d heard rumours of this story a while time back: but nothing prepared me for the reality presented in The Guardian correspondent Shaun Walker’s new book, The Illegals: Russia’s Most Audacious Spies and the Plot to Infiltrate the West. Drawing on copies of KGB files made by a dissident Soviet…Wed, 30 Apr 2025 12:52:21 GMThttps://www.marksalter.org/jurist-interview/https://www.marksalter.org/jurist-interview/An interview pegged to my forthcoming modern history of Sri Lanka with Jurist, an online review for US law students and professionals, has just been published. Here it is (link and text): A Crisis of Governance and the Fluidity of Ethnic Identity: Understanding Modern Sri Lanka – Interview with…Mon, 28 Apr 2025 13:24:23 GMThttps://www.marksalter.org/the-great-lenin-makeover/https://www.marksalter.org/the-great-lenin-makeover/Even though I never made it to the original Lenin Museum in Tampere (wish I had), over the years I've heard plenty about the place. Following a major facelift the museum reopened recently. Renamed ‘Nootti’ - Finnish for a diplomatic note – the refashioned exhibits are said to reflect the seachange…Thu, 24 Apr 2025 17:30:16 GMThttps://www.marksalter.org/the-great-elk-migration/https://www.marksalter.org/the-great-elk-migration/Starting on Swedish TV (SVT) this week, earlier than usual due to warmer April weather: a livestream of northern Sweden's annual 'Great Elk Migration' (Den Stora Älgvandringen). What started in 2019 as a minority ’slow TV’ interest has since blossomed into a phenomenon with a mass fanbase. Thus…Thu, 17 Apr 2025 16:07:56 GMThttps://www.marksalter.org/south-asian-domestic-workers-suffering-in-lebanon-another-gaza-fallout/https://www.marksalter.org/south-asian-domestic-workers-suffering-in-lebanon-another-gaza-fallout/By the end of 2024 the Gazan conflict had also enveloped Lebanon, a country with a large number of migrant workers, many from South Asia. Following Israeli airstrikes in the country's south, by November, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimated that approximately 25,000 migrant…Wed, 09 Apr 2025 16:44:22 GMThttps://www.marksalter.org/uk-moves-on-sri-lankan-accountability/https://www.marksalter.org/uk-moves-on-sri-lankan-accountability/The British government has announced that it is placing sanctions on a four individuals alleged to have command responsibility for crimes committed during Sri Lanka's civil war (1983 - 2009). The group of those alleged to be responsible for war crimes are all high ranking military figures: three…Wed, 26 Mar 2025 16:19:12 GMThttps://www.marksalter.org/colombo-telegraph/https://www.marksalter.org/colombo-telegraph/The Colombo Telegraph has just published my latest Sri Lanka commentary. Here it is: colombotelegraph.com/index.php/fixing-sri-lankas-economy-a-governance-approach/Thu, 20 Mar 2025 11:13:14 GMThttps://www.marksalter.org/fixing-sri-lankas-economy-a-governance-approach/https://www.marksalter.org/fixing-sri-lankas-economy-a-governance-approach/Ever since Sri Lanka’s 2022 economic meltdown, it has been popular – if not the mainstream consensus - to argue that the country’s travails are chiefly the result of poor economic decision-making and policy. Absent swinging tax cuts and a decision to go organic in agricultural production, so the…Wed, 19 Mar 2025 16:00:33 GMThttps://www.marksalter.org/pause-ai-development-before-its-too-late/https://www.marksalter.org/pause-ai-development-before-its-too-late/This just in from my son Jonathan Salter on why AI development needs to be paused (not stopped) - as a matter of existential urgency for us humans. (Here's the English translation of Svenska Dagbladet's Swedish original). 𝐇𝐞 𝐖𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐏𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐀𝐈 – 𝐭𝐨 𝐒𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐇𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 AI…Tue, 18 Mar 2025 14:16:10 GMThttps://www.marksalter.org/while-the-site-was-down/https://www.marksalter.org/while-the-site-was-down/During the years my website was down I did manage to post reasonably on my professional Facebook page. Here is the link:Mon, 17 Mar 2025 13:32:31 GMThttps://www.marksalter.org/return-of-the-website/https://www.marksalter.org/return-of-the-website/Following a somewhat lengthy interval, my website is finally returning to action: with this new book announcement. From Independence to Aragalaya: A Modern History of Sri Lanka (Hurst, October 2025) In February 1948, following centuries of colonial rule – by the Portuguese, Dutch and British…Fri, 14 Mar 2025 14:32:08 GMThttps://www.marksalter.org/syria-chemical-weapons-and-the-limits-of-international-law/https://www.marksalter.org/syria-chemical-weapons-and-the-limits-of-international-law/Syria, chemical weapons and the limits of international law Useful thinkpiece arguing why, despite predictable Russian veto moves, military intervention in Syria should still go down the UN Security Council route - and how to fix the current lack of international legal provision for chemical…Mon, 16 Apr 2018 11:01:00 GMThttps://www.marksalter.org/why-south-asias-majorities-act-like-persecuted-minorities/https://www.marksalter.org/why-south-asias-majorities-act-like-persecuted-minorities/Why South Asia’s majorities act like persecuted minorities Thoughtful analysis, even if a bit tougher on India's secular failings than the evidence perhaps warrants. Hilarious take on BBS Leader Gnanaserathough! “Every post-colonial state in South Asia paid lip service to secular principle in the…Sun, 15 Apr 2018 15:17:49 GMThttps://www.marksalter.org/the-un-failing-the-rohingyas/https://www.marksalter.org/the-un-failing-the-rohingyas/The UN: failing the Rohingyas? More than 500,000 Rohingya have fled Myanmar "The government knows how to use us and to manipulate us and they keep on doing it - we never learn. And we can never stand up to them because we can't upset the government." The parallels between the UN's performance in…Sat, 30 Sep 2017 13:52:38 GMThttps://www.marksalter.org/another-sri-lanka-book-review/https://www.marksalter.org/another-sri-lanka-book-review/(Another) Sri Lanka Book Review Here's a new - and as it happens, rather complimentary - review of my Sri Lanka book by noted academic and South Asian regional specialist Neil De Votta, originally published in the Asian Security journal and now reproduced in the Colombo Telegraph. All in all an…Tue, 26 Sep 2017 15:30:58 GMThttps://www.marksalter.org/brexits-murky-underbelly-increasing-arms-sales-to-repressive-regimes/https://www.marksalter.org/brexits-murky-underbelly-increasing-arms-sales-to-repressive-regimes/Brexit's murky underbelly: increasing arms sales to repressive regimes On the back of Brexit, new research by the Campaign Against The Arms Trade (CAAT) points to the fact the UK government is working hard to boost arms sales. And to anyone and everyone - dictators and ruthless regimes such as…Mon, 11 Sep 2017 17:23:52 GMThttps://www.marksalter.org/rohingya-resources/https://www.marksalter.org/rohingya-resources/Rohingya Resources My publisher Hurst released this book on Myanmar's ~~Rohingya Mulsim minority a year back. In the light of current developments it appears to be increasingly required reading. hurstpublishers.com/book/the-rohingyas/Thu, 07 Sep 2017 17:43:06 GMThttps://www.marksalter.org/new-sri-lanka-book-review/https://www.marksalter.org/new-sri-lanka-book-review/New Sri Lanka Book Review This just in from Shweta Singh, Assistant Professor at the South Asian University, Delhi: For those of you interested in the politics of Sri Lanka, here is my take on Mark Salter's book 'To End A Civil War: Norway's Peace Engagement with Sri Lanka' in the Asian Studies…Wed, 06 Sep 2017 12:32:19 GMThttps://www.marksalter.org/should-aung-san-suu-kyi-keep-her-nobel-peace-prize/https://www.marksalter.org/should-aung-san-suu-kyi-keep-her-nobel-peace-prize/Should Aung San Suu Kyi keep her Nobel peace prize? Strong argument from the UK Guardian columnist George Monbiot for a move that would definitely prove anathema among many both in Myanmar and abroad. Strip Aung San Suu Kyi of her Nobel Prize on account of her signal failure to take a stand against…Wed, 06 Sep 2017 08:57:37 GMThttps://www.marksalter.org/the-secret-history-of-the-banking-crisis/https://www.marksalter.org/the-secret-history-of-the-banking-crisis/The Secret History of the Banking Crisis Riveting, accessible account of the 2008 financial crisis and the hush-hush 'swapline' system between the US Fed and a select coterie of European central banks put in place to contain it (remains with us today). Will Trump get round to disrupting it? And…Fri, 01 Sep 2017 14:34:36 GMThttps://www.marksalter.org/canadas-approach-to-immigration-how-and-why-it-works/https://www.marksalter.org/canadas-approach-to-immigration-how-and-why-it-works/Canada's approach to immigration: how (and why) it works Good, balanced analysis of Canada's approach to immigration - and the lessons it holds for Brexit Britian (and indeed other EU countries) - the September issue of Prospect. As one of the Canadian experts citex argues with reference to the…Mon, 28 Aug 2017 16:20:53 GMThttps://www.marksalter.org/scotland-normal-nation-neurotic-neighbour/https://www.marksalter.org/scotland-normal-nation-neurotic-neighbour/Here's a brilliant piece from veteran writer and commentator Neal Ascherson on the age-old problématique of Anglo-Scottish relations. Required pre-election reading both north and south of the border. Scotland: Normal nation, neurotic neighbour The Union has been in decline for decades. The root…Tue, 02 May 2017 15:59:09 GMThttps://www.marksalter.org/pachyderm-paradise/https://www.marksalter.org/pachyderm-paradise/Pachyderm Paradise Here's the venerable decorated elephant - tusker as it's known locally - fronting the procession at this year's Navam Perahera festival in Colombo. Organized by the Gangaramaya Temple, a local landmark, and held during the February poya (full moon), the event always draws a…Mon, 13 Feb 2017 15:24:31 GMThttps://www.marksalter.org/in-the-cage-trying-to-get-out/https://www.marksalter.org/in-the-cage-trying-to-get-out/'In The Cage, Trying To Get Out' Imagno/Getty Images Herschel Grynszpan at his first interrogation, one day after he shot the German diplomat Ernst vom Rath at the German embassy in Paris, November 8, 1938 Here is another typically engaging and informative review by historian Timothy Schneider from…Fri, 03 Feb 2017 16:06:28 GMThttps://www.marksalter.org/cuba-the-paradox-of-us-foreign-policy/https://www.marksalter.org/cuba-the-paradox-of-us-foreign-policy/Cuba: the paradox of US foreign policy Here is a convincing recent thinkpiece from Isabel Hilton, published in Prospect, on the paradoxical role implacable US opposition to Fidel Castro played in helping consolidate and later prop up his dictatorial regime. "Mishandling the developing world…Mon, 02 Jan 2017 11:54:49 GMT