Dr Chamindra Weerawardhana
A prolific, interdisciplinary & internationalist body of work
Decolonising Peacebuilding
Why should peacebuilding & conflict management-related knowledge & insight trickle down to the global South from the global north? How can we engage in a more equitable, mutually respectful 'decolonial' global conversation on conflict management & the politics of deeply divided places? Why is Northern Ireland seen as a beacon of conflict management? Chamindra's work involves a strong emphasis on such questions & related issues.
Feminist Politics & IR
Innovations in feminist international relations, exploring trans feminist perspectives on IR and development work, women-of-colour feminist epistemologies, peer-reviewed work on feminist IR, women in politics, politics of the left, parity issues, & a core focus on decolonising feminist IR & feminist political science beyond routine forms of cisnormative gatekeeping.
Politics Home and Abroad
A record of political engagements internationally, in grassroots organising & politics in the 'local' spheres, as well as in high politics & international diplomacy. A multilingual internationalist par excellence, experienced in political lobbying & expert consultancies, especially in Western Europe, North America, South/Southeast Asia and Oceania.
About Chamindra
Chamindra is a writer, political and international affairs analyst, academic and educator. She is also a a human rights activist with a strong intersectional feminist focus. Her discipline is international politics, with a strong interest in the politics of deeply divided places, intersectional feminist international relations and the politics of intersectional justice.
A Sri Lankan national, Chamindra has held teaching and research positions in several countries including France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. She is a prolific writer, speaker and public intellectual, providing regular commentaries and insights into many aspects of politics, foreign policy and human rights. She has also engaged in political organizing in several countries, with a core focus on upholding a strong intersectional feminist ethos, and strengthening 'representation' and the agency of people and communities faced with systemic forms of marginalization. Chamindra currently engages with political circles internationally, as part of her work in promoting human rights, intersectional justice, and intersectional feminist approaches to politics, policymaking and global cooperation.
Chamindra has some sixteen years of experience in research, media engagements and consultancies with high politics, especially in the UK and Ireland, Canada and Sri Lanka. Committed to the promotion of democracy and best practice in governance, she regularly engages with governmental and supranational bodies, providing expert insight into issues of foreign policy, multilateralism, human rights diplomacy and more.
Chamindra is an alumna of Queen's University Belfast, and Université de Tours [Indre-et-Loire, France], with stints of European exchange programmes and fellowships at the Universities of Ulster [Ireland] and Utrecht [The Netherlands].