| dc.description.abstract | The term air diplomacy first came into
limelight in the first half of the 20th century amidst
the advent of air power. The air diplomacy is the
employment of air power elements in support of the
foreign policy. The study explored how an air
diplomacy framework could be incorporated into the
air strategy with object to strengthen country’s
foreign policy aspirations; further, it is benefitted to
bolster the tangible and non-tangible capabilities of
the SLAF. The contemporary world has seen
regional/global air forces have been attempting to
leverage air power in quest of protecting national
interests and human capital beyond its seashores.
Although, it is observed that Sri Lanka has not been
exploiting the air diplomacy to the fullest extent, in
quest of attaining foreign policy aspirations
irrespective of the governments in power. Hence, it is
imperative to bridge this gap and employ the air
diplomacy in order to attain desired ends while
supporting the regional stability/cooperation.
Researchers have derived the conceptual framework
based on the review of theoretical studies. The
exploratory study accustomed with inductive
approach and interpretivism research philosophy
while conducted as a qualitative study. Eventually,
researchers have developed an air diplomacy
framework which could, schematically be imbedded
into SLAF’s air strategy, whilst aiming to support
country’s foreign policy aspirations, subsequent to
recognised current government’s foreign policy
imperatives, where the air diplomacy could be
employed. The two spheres of SLAF’s engagements
within the air diplomacy spectrum explored as
kinetic and non-kinetic engagements. | en_US |
