Dr Thiruni Kelegama is a Lecturer in Modern South Asian Studies at the Oxford School of Global and Area Studies, and a Junior Research Fellow at Wolfson College, University of Oxford, UK. Her research looks at political and infrastructural transformations triggered by development in Sri Lanka and the Global South. She holds a PhD in Political Geography from the University of Zurich, Switzerland.
Policy Publications
Kelegama, T and Gunatilaka, M.. (2025). Why Debt-for-Nature Swaps Won’t Save Sri Lanka: The Case for Community-Controlled Conservation, Institute of Political Economy, Sri Lanka.
Kelegama, T. and Gunatilaka, M. (2024). Breaking the Cycle: Climate Finance, Debt, and Human Rights in Sri Lanka, Institute of Political Economy, Sri Lanka.
Public Policy Engagement
2024: ‘Sri Lanka’s continued debt crisis highlights urgent need for wider reform’, Bretton Woods Project, 9 April 2024
Media: Newspapers and Online Media Sites
Li, Y and Kelegama, T. (2025). Sri Lanka. The People’s Map of Global China.
Kelegama, T. (2025). Sri Lanka moved to end impunity with arrest of former president. The Conversation. 1 September
Republished in Asia Times, Yahoo News, Daily FT (Sri Lanka)
Kelegama, T. (2025). Sri Lanka’s Selective Solidarities. Jamhoor. 24 June
Kelegama, T and Ruwanpura, K. N. (2024). Sri Lanka’s new president faces uphill battle to revive debt-ridden economy. The Conversation. 2 October.
Republished in: Geographic Directions, Asia Times, BizBuzz News, Daily Financial Times-Sri Lanka, Yahoo Finance.
Kelegama, T. (2024). Sri Lanka: Why the country’s wait for elections must end. The Conversation. 16 February
Republished in Yahoo News
Kelegama, T. (2023). Development gone wrong: Sri Lanka at 75. LSE South Asia. 10 April
Kelegama, T. (2022). What does a resignation mean for Sri Lanka? Comment Central. 15 July
Media: Broadcast
The Politics of Development, The People’s Platform, News First, Sri Lanka, 25 September 2023.
Media: Engagement
2025: Ex-president arrrested for ‘flying to London on public money’, The Times, 23 August 2025.
2025: South Asian women will be hurt by the trade war, The Economist, 31 July 2025.
2025: Sri Lanka’s War Widows Are Clearing Its Land of Mines, New Lines Magazine, 21 May 2025.
2022; Akademička z Oxfordu: Protestující na Šrí Lance jsou oběti hospodářského selhání. Požadují odpovědnost, IROZHLAS, 19 July 2022.
2022; Sri Lanka: Is a push for organic behind the country’s unrest?, BBC, 16 July 2022.
2022: What is happening in Sri Lanka? Protesters wait for president to resign, Sky News, 14 July 2022.