Publications

Below is a list of publications since 2021. Previous publications are available on LinkedIn, Academia, and Google Scholar. All views are personal and do not represent any organization.

US Naval Strategy in the Indian Ocean

Cross Currents: The New Geopolitics of the Indian Ocean (ANU National Security College Press) - February 14, 2025

India on One Side, China on the Other: Small-State Security in the Himalayas

Co-authors: Achyut Bhandari, Amb. Sonam Rabgye, Biswas Baral, Bhrikuti Rai, and Dr. Pramod Jaiswal, United States Institute of Peace - January 8, 2025

SAV Q&A Understanding Naval Competition in the Indian Ocean Region

Co-authors: Tanzeela Khalil and Viraj Solanki, Stimson Center's South Asian Voices (SAV) - December 17, 2024

Sri Lanka

Blue Security in the Indo-Pacific (Routledge) - November 14, 2024. Book chapter on Sri Lanka's maritime security challenges and priorities.

Connecting West and East: Indian Ocean Security and the US Indo-Pacific Strategy

East-West Center in Washington - October 18, 2024. Also read the wider series, featuring insights from scholars based in Madagascar, Seychelles, Maldives, India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and Thailand about their countries’ outlooks toward Indian Ocean security and the US Indo-Pacific Strategy. I served as Guest Editor.

Sri Lanka’s New President Faces Daunting Challenges and High Hopes

Co-author: Tamanna Salikuddin, United States Institute of Peace - October 1, 2024

How Have India’s Neighbors Reacted to Its Election?

Co-authors: Humayun Kabir, Geoffrey Macdonald, and Asfandyar Mir, United States Institute of Peace - June 25, 2024

Bangladesh’s Growing Role in Maritime Security

United States Institute of Peace - April 30, 2024

Countering Coercion: Managing Chinese Gray Zone Activity in the South China Sea and Indian Ocean Region

Co-author: Lisa Curtis, Center for a New American Security (CNAS) - March 29, 2024

What’s Driving India-China Tensions?

Co-authors: Dean Cheng, Sameer Lalwani, and Daniel Markey, United States Institute of Peace - March 25, 2024

Bangladesh–US Bilateral Relations

Bangladesh on a New Journey: Moving beyond the Regional Identity (Bloomsbury India) - February 2024

As Tensions with India Grow, Maldives Looks to China

United States Institute of Peace - January 18, 2024

Maldives’ President Seeks to Preserve Sovereignty Amid Indian Ocean Competition

United States Institute of Peace - December 4, 2023

Ocean Security: South Asia and the Indian Ocean

The Daily Morning (Sri Lanka) - October 24, 2023. I delivered the keynote address at the Regional Centre for Strategic Studies (RCSS) conference on "Ocean Security: South Asia and the Indian Ocean." The Daily Morning newspaper published my remarks in two parts.

US-China Strategic Competition is Centered on the Pacific Segment of the Indo-Pacific: Nilanthi Samaranayake

Interview by A. Jathindra, Centre for Strategic Studies (Trincomalee) - October 10, 2023

Indian Ocean Basing and Access: How Smaller States Navigate Major Power Competition

United States Institute of Peace - August 10, 2023

Nilanthi Samaranayake: Russia Remains an Important Actor for Smaller South Asian Countries

Interview by Kamal Dev Bhattarai, The Annapurna Express - August 11, 2023

A Year After Mass Protests, Sri Lanka’s Governance Crisis Continues

Co-authors: Nishan de Mel and Ambika Satkunanathan, United States Institute of Peace - July 20, 2023

Why the U.S. Wants to Step Up Engagement in the Indian Ocean

United States Institute of Peace - May 24, 2023

Smaller South Asian Countries and the US Indo-Pacific Strategy at One Year

East-West Center in Washington - May 21, 2023. Also read the wider series, featuring leading voices from Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka examining the US Indo-Pacific Strategy. I served as Guest Editor.