South Asian Countries in Regional Integration Perspective: A Critical Review (original) (raw)

South Asian Regional Integration – Challenges and Prospects

South Asian regional integration is seemingly confronting many challenges. The aim of this paper is to identify those challenges and also look for prospects. Although regional integration in South Asia has adopted a kind of institutionalization, it is yet to deliver any concrete outcomes. High-politics and the not-so-conducive regional economic structures hinder any effectual culmination. However, constructivism, as a theory, is given due credence in this paper when looking for future prospects. The paper highlights the issues, and attempts to offer certain policy directions by analyzing the challenges and identifying the prospects in the ongoing integration/cooperation process.

Dynamics of Regional Integration in South Asia: Lessons from the European Union

Margalla Papers, 2023

Regional integration is aimed at promoting socioeconomic growth and development in a region through economic cooperation among the member states. The European Union (EU) was established to promote economic and political cooperation among member countries. EU's unprecedented success in regional integration offers lessons for other regions. Unlike the EU, SAARC has not been successful in achieving significant economic integration among member states. Despite its potential, SAARC has been plagued by political and economic differences among member states, especially between Pakistan and India. South Asian countries are unable to boost regional integration not only because of their political differences but also due to other sub-regional and trans-regional initiatives that run anti to the spirit of regional integration under the umbrella of SAARC. India's role towards regional integration in South Asia is considered significant being the leading nation in the region. This paper first identifies the economic and political factors that hinder regional integration in South Asia. Then, it focuses on the dynamics of successful regional integration in Europe intending to underline the lessons to be learned by the South Asian countries to boost their regional cooperation.

Regional Integration in South Asia: Utopia or Reality?

Margalla Papers, 2022

South Asia comprises almost one-quarter of the world's population. It faces a host of disputes of varying natures, including armed conflicts, proxy wars, and religious and ethnic strife. Despite its deplorable state of human security and impoverished people, South Asia is considered the least integrated region globally. Approximately 1.99 billion people suffer in terms of energy, food, water and health security due to conflicts and hostile interstate relationships. This paper analyses the socio-political and security environment of the region and explores the impediments to regional integration. Focusing on the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, it highlights that the idea of regional integration cannot be realized without resolving core issues. Economic cooperation between regional countries can only be achieved if integration models like the European Union and Association of South East Asian Nations are considered with necessary deviations.

Regional Integration and Economic Development in South Asia

Edward Elgar Publishing eBooks, 2012

The views expressed in this report are those of the author and do not necessarily refl ect the views and policies of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), its Board of Governors, or the governments they represent. ADB does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this publication and accepts no responsibility for any consequence of their use. By making any designation of or reference to a particular territory or geographic area, or by using the term "country" in this document, ADB does not intend to make any judgments as to the legal or other status of any territory or area.

REGIONAL INTEGRATION OR DISINTEGRATION: AN APPRAISAL OF THE CURRENT TRENDS IN SOUTH ASIA

The paper explores the possibility of regional integration in South Asia on the pattern of European Union by examining the prevailing socio-economic and religio-cultural conditions, and political trends in the region. South Asian, once formed a single administrative, economic and political unit, had to be divided into several independent states on communal lines. The factors and forces that had caused partition of India in 1947 did not recede in the post-independence era and continued throughout to challenge the territorial integrity of regional states. The conditions that existed before launching of integration process in Europe did not appear before or after initiation of regionalism in South Asia. The most of SAARC members are faced with serious challenges of national integration and centrifugal forces are quite strong both at national and regional level. The region lacks significant centripetal forces which can help unite it. The disintegrative forces are prone to grow stronger in future making regional integration on European pattern less likely in South Asia.

Regional Economic Integration in South Asia Sohan Lal

The era of globalisation is marked by the interdependence and interconnectedness of world economies. The world has converted into a global village, creation of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is also a step further in economic integration of the region. However, the integration process in South Asia is fraught with difficulties, especially lack of understanding. The paper deals with some of the issues that hampers the economic integration in South Asia. Progress made in by SAARC, through SAFTA is also an important dynamics that is being discussed. The paper also highlights the potential for deeper economic integration in the region. Despite group of eight nations why SAARC is not moving towards on complete economic integration? The paper further illustrated the benefits of economic integration in South Asia.

South Asian integration prospects and lessons from East Asia

2008

In the context of the low levels of regional cooperation among South Asian countries when compared with the successful results from cooperation in East Asia (consisting of South East and East Asian countries), the objective of this paper is first to assess the prospects of cooperation among South Asian economies and then to draw lessons from East Asian regional experiments for South Asian regionalism for the betterment of these prospects. The main argument of the paper is that South Asia should adopt a twin-track approach: better integration within itself and better integration with rest of the world particularly East Asia. Both tracks would complement and supplement each other ensuring a greater chance of success.