Amal Jayawardane is Professor Emeritus of International Relations, University of Colombo, and Adjunct Professor at the Faculty of Defence and Strategic Studies, General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University. Previously, he served as the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and the Head of the Department of International Relations, University of Colombo. He was appointed the Executive Director (2008-2011) of the Regional Centre for Strategic Studies (RCSS), which is a Regional Think-Tank in South Asia. Since 2013, he has been serving as Sri Lanka Government’s Representative to the ASEAN Regional Forum Experts and Imminent Persons (ARF-EEP) Group. He is a Member of the Boards of Management of the Bandaranaike Centre for International Studies (BCIS) and the Regional Centre for Strategic studies (RCSS). He has also served as Visiting Professor at the School of International Service, the American University, Washington D.C., and Research Scholar at the Department of International Relations, London School of Economics and Political Science. He obtained his B.A. from the University of Ceylon and M.A., Ph.D. from the University of Washington.

 He has also functioned as a Consultant to the National Integration Programme Unit of the Ministry of Ethnic Affairs and National Integration; Member of the Coordinating Committee, Centre for the Study of Human Rights, University of Colombo; Co-Director, Centre for Policy Studies and Research, University of Colombo; and the Founding Director of the Institute of International Studies (IIS), Kandy. During the period 1994-1997, he served as a Member of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry in respect of Involuntary Removal and Disappearances of Persons.