Sri Lanka Between India and China - A Small State Navigating the Big Powers’ Rivalry in 2005-2025.

With the rising significance of the Asian continent on the international arena, small states such as Sri Lanka have become significant actors in big powers’ competition in the region. India has a long history of interactions with this island state, while China decided to step into the game quite recently. On the way towards finding a well-thought foreign policy Sri Lanka not only was given many opportunities but also had to face numerous challenges. Between years 2005 and 2025 Sri Lanka survived a tsunami, civil war, economic collapse and many more. All of the above pushed Colombo closer to the more powerful states that could help it rebuild the country after severe crises. This thesis examines Sri Lanka’s approach towards ongoing rivalry between India and China in years 2005-2025 and their involvement in the country under different administrations and assesses this small state’s agency. By applying Realist Theories of IR and concepts such as non-alignment and hedging this thesis explains that Sri Lanka undertakes action in order to not only survive in the international environment, but also to gain benefits from the rivalry and is not a just a passive element of it. Simultaneously, India and China seek to maximize their power and ensure their dominance in the region, via expanding their zone of influence onto territories of smaller states such as Sri Lanka, proving the existence Great Power Competition in the region.