Public talk tomorrow on Constitutional crisis and institutional costs by Dr. Asanga Welikala

The Nightwatchman Society will be hosting a public talk titled ‘Constitutional Crisis and Institutional Costs’ by Dr. Asanga Welikala this Thursday, on 1 August at the Hatch Auditorium. The public talk is part of a series of idea-based discussions conducted monthly by The Nightwatchman Society. 

Sri Lanka was plunged into a major constitutional crisis on the night of 26 October 2018. The outcome, an attempt at ‘democratic backsliding’ ended with a demonstration of ‘institutional resilience’. However, deeper questions of political culture should be given due consideration, before making an overoptimistic assessment of the crisis. 

The public talk is set to start at 6 p.m. at the Hatch Auditorium, in Colombo 1. This talk will examine the institutional and cultural aspects of Sri Lanka’s constitutional system, in the light of historical precedents, to outline some of the lessons we must learn. 

It will also argue that the potential for bad governance and unconstitutional behaviour that remains in our political system has a high hidden cost that explains, aside from any solely technical or economic policy explanation, how Sri Lanka’s chronic economic underperformance and inequality derives directly from bad institutions and the structure of socially undesirable incentives they create for political actors.   

The speaker, Dr. Asanga Welikala is an expert in constitutional law and is a Lecturer in Public Law at the School of Law, University of Edinburgh, and the Acting Director of the Edinburgh Centre for Constitutional Law. He is also a Research Associate of the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London, and a Research Fellow of the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA), Sri Lanka. His research interests lie in comparative constitutional law, applied constitutional theory, and Commonwealth constitutional history. 

With the objective of encouraging national conversation on policy, The Nightwatchman Society invites the public to join this talk followed by a discussion, with free admission and no pre-registration required. 

The Nightwatchman Society is a platform for those who are interested in ideas of individual freedom, free-markets and an open society. Everyone who’d like to engage with these ideas are welcome, and public talks are held every other month. They alternatively hold a book-club that discusses texts focusing on an open society with their members. 

Some previous events include a talk on ‘Nationalism and Diversity’ by Dr. Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, insights on the feasibility of a ‘Universal Income Guarantee’ by Prof. Rohan Samarajiva, and a talk on ‘Markets and Morality’ by Kris Mauren of the Acton Institute, amongst others.