In 1971 the Sri Lankan Prime Minister tabled the Indian Ocean as a Zone of Peace at the 26th United Nations General Assembly, marking the state's international debut at the global stage. This article analyses the trajectory of this highly significant initiative in the context of rapidly evolving political instabilities within Sri Lanka and across the Indian Ocean region. It argues that Sri Lanka's pursuit of peace during the 1970s and 1980s stemmed from multiple threats to its sovereignty combined with the state's desire to develop strategic allies and the material donations that flowed from those relations. The pursuit saw Sri Lanka align with India, the USA, the Soviet Union, and Britain at moments of political deterioration. These alignments enabled the Sri Lankan government to seek material supports to address breakdowns of political relations with the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna in the south and Tamils in the north and east. The article argues that the Sri Lankan pursuit of peace irrevocably transformed Indian Ocean internationalisms and shows how a small state aligned to suit its political needs. The pursuit also linked Sri Lanka's Indian Ocean peace efforts to a liberal order in problematic ways and strengthened international backing for violence against its citizens.

中文翻译：

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印度洋国际主义：斯里兰卡对和平的追求，1971-89

1971年，斯里兰卡总理在第26届联合国大会上将印度洋列为和平区，标志着该国在全球舞台上的首次亮相。本文分析了在斯里兰卡和整个印度洋地区政治不稳定局势迅速演变的背景下这一意义重大的倡议的轨迹。它认为，斯里兰卡在 1970 年代和 1980 年代追求和平源于对其主权的多重威胁，加上该国发展战略盟友的愿望以及这些关系带来的物质捐赠。在这场追求中，斯里兰卡在政治恶化的时刻与印度、美国、苏联和英国结盟。这些结盟使斯里兰卡政府能够寻求物质支持，以解决与南部的贾纳塔·维穆克提·佩拉穆纳以及北部和东部的泰米尔人的政治关系破裂的问题。文章认为，斯里兰卡对和平的追求不可逆转地改变了印度洋国际主义，并展示了一个小国如何结盟以适应其政治需要。这一行动还以有问题的方式将斯里兰卡的印度洋和平努力与自由秩序联系起来，并加强了国际社会对其公民暴力的支持。