Regional Cooperation in South Asia: Exploring the Three Pillars of Regionalism and their Relevance

Author:

PAUL ADITI

Abstract

The lofty ideals penned by the heads of the South Asian states at the birth of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) reflect a vision for promoting mutual trust and understanding in South Asia. But the member states have fallen into the intricate web of power balancing games, fluctuating economic growth and volatile ethnic and religious conditions that has marred the potential gains from regionalism. In such a scenario, while SAARCs snail-like progress continues without any remarkable achievements, there has been a rise of new regional organizations that has not only renewed our attention towards economic liberalization and the benefits accrued from multilateral economic cooperation but has also put into question the fundamentals of regionalism. The paper situates regionalism in acts of cooperation that are not isolated and discrete from each other but rather form a pattern of interconnecting expectations about the future of the alliance and the assumptions on legitimate activities. The paper argues that regionalism is a multi-faceted task and involves political harmony, economic interdependence and common identity as the three pillars. But regionalism in South Asia encourages economic interdependence and proscribes political integration and common values and norms. As a result, the attempts at regionalism in South Asia are conceptually narrow, limited in agenda and inadequate to address the issues of regional peace and security.

Publisher

World Scientific Pub Co Pte Lt

Cited by 5 articles. 订阅此论文施引文献 订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献

同舟云学术

1.学者识别学者识别

2.学术分析学术分析

3.人才评估人才评估

"同舟云学术"是以全球学者为主线,采集、加工和组织学术论文而形成的新型学术文献查询和分析系统,可以对全球学者进行文献检索和人才价值评估。用户可以通过关注某些学科领域的顶尖人物而持续追踪该领域的学科进展和研究前沿。经过近期的数据扩容,当前同舟云学术共收录了国内外主流学术期刊6万余种,收集的期刊论文及会议论文总量共计约1.5亿篇,并以每天添加12000余篇中外论文的速度递增。我们也可以为用户提供个性化、定制化的学者数据。欢迎来电咨询!咨询电话:010-8811{复制后删除}0370

www.globalauthorid.com

TOP

Copyright © 2019-2024 北京同舟云网络信息技术有限公司
京公网安备11010802033243号  京ICP备18003416号-3