ISAS Insights

For a tiny, picturesque and homogenous country, the Maldives has experienced volatile politics in modern times. It has had more constitutions than any other South Asian state, most of which have been tried and proven failed. All organs of governance – the executive, the parliament, the bureaucracy as well as the courts – have contributed to its tumultuous politics. Its strategic location in the Indian Ocean has attracted the attention of the main regional protagonists, India and China, which impacts on its domestic politics as its external shell of protection is weak. It is also susceptible to the vagaries of climate change, which calls for concerted and coherent policies that embattled governments are unable to provide. The presidential elections ushered change in 2018, and now parliamentary elections are due on 6 April 2019. A way out of political imbroglio is sought, but the possibility of success in this regard is small.