Global Dispatches -- Conversations On Foreign Policy And World Affairs

Sri Lankans stunned the world--and probably themselves--when they voted to oust a quasi-autocrat from power. In January, a politician named Maithripali Sirisena engineered a surprise electoral upset against Mahinda Rajapaksa, an authoritarian and probable war criminal whose family long held a tight grip on power. In this episode,  human rights lawyer and political scientist Kate Cronin-Furman explains how this upset occurred, what it might mean for other quasi-dictators around the world, and how this move might effect ethnic Tamils' long quest for justice and accountability for crimes against humanity.