Ranil's rout, so long overdue & vital, a parable for civil society. From network surveillance to regulatory frameworks & kinetic violence, scrutiny of (critical) NGOs will make MR's decade pale into insignificance. PhD fieldwork revealed degree to which CS oblivious to this.

G/MR will shape country as they see fit aided by visionary & feared wo/men behind the scenes. Thru (social) media, they who will craft meta-narratives CS won't even be aware of, but will constrain space for advocacy in ways mere SM accounts & boosts will be risible responses to.

This is not just hate speech. It is a total, everyday reshaping of public imagination, starting w/ those who haven't exercised their franchise yet & are in W/NW Provinces most connected to digital media, & far beyond. Military, temple & teachers will be ubiquitous enablers too.

Courts are not going to be friendly to CS, and HRCSL is going to be hollowed out. OMP will revert to being a good idea. G/MR popularity pegged to economy & will wane, but not before CS as it stands facing significant pushback. Funding will be throttled. Some NGOs will fold.

Diplos will be, as ever, splintered between camps who want to work with this Govt (esp. commanding a clear majority in Parliament) & those who haven't forgotten war crimes allegations, corruption & HR abuses. In sum, CS appeals to them won't help. Much hand-wringing will ensue.

G/MR are, as violent as they are to rights fabric, a construct of elections. More fundamentally, I don't see #lka elections as free or fair on account of scale/scope/speed of influence operations (on SM+trad MSM). Moot or esoteric point though w/ current euphoria.

From my vantage, I see what's coming, who the (more silent) architects are & the scaffolding for systems that will be in play soon. Friends & former colleagues will bear brunt of what CS leadership remains oblivious to, or believes can be addressed way MR's decade was handled.

Biggest gain from G/MR's spectacular return to power will be a cleansing - one way or the other - of the Ranils in CS, of whom there are many (men & women). Rehashing tired thinking because they enjoy ready audience, for SLPP's rising reich, they will be risible more than risk.

Systems perspectives, strategic comms (incl. debate of ideas in person/thru S/MSM), planning beyond 5yrs, understanding SLPP's appeal, radical new collectives & ways of working, new thinking, women, youth. Sound pillars for CS reboot, if only old leadership steps away/down. #lka