Using System Dynamics to Analyze the SRI Lanka Navy's Efforts to Disrupt Narcoterrorism in the EEZ of SRI Lanka and Indian Ocean Region
Abstract
The Indian Ocean Region (IOR) significantly influences the world's economy and balance of power, and maintaining the IOR's maritime security is foremost the responsibility of the islands and coastal nations in the region. Sri Lanka, as the second-largest island nation in the IOR, also has a large Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) threatened by drug trafficking, a problem also faced by other coastal and island nations in the region. The Sri Lanka Navy aims to counter maritime security challenges in the nation's EEZ and to support such efforts throughout the IOR. Little research has been done to explain how small nations might benefit from maritime security and trade engagement with great power nations. This thesis analyzes case studies of Seychelles, Mexico, and Thailand to determine which variables (such as material and monetary resources, institutions, and regional partnerships) most contribute to maritime security capabilities. System dynamics modeling then demonstrates potential behavioral outcomes for Sri Lanka's maritime security system to determine which approaches could effectively disrupt drug trafficking. This thesis documents that achieving enhanced maritime security by disrupting drug trafficking in Sri Lanka's EEZ and IOR is difficult without expanded capabilities and resources such as additional platforms, intelligence sharing, technology, and regional and international agreements.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 01, 2023
- Accession Number
- AD1212903
Entities
People
- Weerasundaralage N. Dharmarathne
Organizations
- Naval Postgraduate School