scholarly journals Same Principles but Different Outcomes of SAARC and ASEAN: Searching Gap

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Razaul Karim
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
South Asia ◽  
South Asian ◽  
Regional Cooperation ◽  
East Asian ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Regional Trade ◽  
Positive Role ◽  
Regional Organizations

This article shows that two regional organizations- the Association of South East Asian Nations and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation were established for regional cooperation and integration. Though both regional organizations’ principles, objectives have similarity but unfortunately, SAARC became an ineffective organization by failing to achieve its goal. Intra-regional trade of SAARC is significantly worse than other regions in the globe. This article tries to find out the reason behind the ineffectiveness of SAARC and concludes that India-Pakistan rivalry, India’s role with smaller countries and mutual mistrust among the nations of South Asia are the main causes that made SAARC an ineffective organization. On the contrary, ASEAN nations have practiced informal diplomacy to mitigate their bilateral disputes, decision making process- the ASEAN way, Indonesia’s positive role made ASEAN a successful organization. The article has also shown a comparative analysis between SAARC and ASEAN for identifying some good examples which SAARC countries could follow.

scholarly journals Economic Implications of Deeper South Asian–Southeast Asian Integration: A CGE Approach

2015 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 63-81 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ganeshan Wignaraja ◽  
Peter Morgan ◽  
Michael G. Plummer ◽  
Fan Zhai
Keyword(s):  
Southeast Asia ◽  
South Asia ◽  
South Asian ◽  
Computable General Equilibrium ◽  
Regional Cooperation ◽  
Computable General Equilibrium Model ◽  
Trade Costs ◽  
Regional Trade ◽  
Economic Implications ◽  
Asian Integration

Using a computable general equilibrium model, this paper estimates the potential gains from deepening integration across South Asia and Southeast Asia. If the two regions succeed in dropping inter-regional tariffs, reducing non-tariff barriers by 50 percent, and decreasing inter-regional trade costs by 15 percent—which the paper suggests are ambitious but nevertheless attainable—welfare in South Asia and Southeast Asia would rise by 8.9 percent and 6.4 percent of GDP, respectively, by 2030. Hence, we conclude that deepening South Asian regional cooperation together with building links to Southeast Asia would pay off rich dividends.

What Does Gravity Model Reveal About SAFTA?

2010 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 185-197
Author(s):  
Renu Verma ◽  
Jaidev Dubey
Keyword(s):  
Sri Lanka ◽  
South Asia ◽  
South Asian ◽  
Regional Cooperation ◽  
Trade Agreement ◽  
Trade Agreements ◽  
Asian Countries ◽  
The South ◽  
Regional Trade ◽  
Multilateral Trade

During last decade, the stalemate in multilateral trade negotiations under the framework of World Trade Organization (WTO) regime has provided impetus to the signing of regional trade agreements world over .South Asia is not an exception to this trend and has been involved in setting up its own bilateral and Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs). Most commonly cited cooperation agreements are Agreement on Trade and Commerce between India and Bhutan(1972), India-Nepal Bilateral Trade and Transit Treaties(1991), India–Sri Lanka Bilateral Free Trade Area(1998) Bangkok Agreement (1975),  Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand Economic Cooperation (BIMST-EC-2004) and the Indian Ocean Rim Association of Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC-1997). One of  the most significant steps  towards regional economic cooperation in the history of South Asian countries, was taken with signing of The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) formed in 1985 with the objective of exploiting “accelerated economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the region” for the welfare of the peoples of South Asia. And then seven South Asian countries—Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka—initiated a framework for region-wide integration under the South Asian Preferential Trade Agreement (SAPTA) in 1995. In order to further cement the regional economic relations and overcome some impediments of SAPTA, the South Asia Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) was signed in early 2004, which came into force on 1st July 2006. The SAFTA is a parallel initiative to the multilateral trade liberalization commitments of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) member countries. SAFTA aims to reduce tariffs for intraregional trade among the seven SAARC member countries. It has been agreed that for the South Asian countries, Pakistan and India will eliminate all tariffs by 2012, Sri Lanka by 2013 and Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives and Nepal by 2015. The current paper is an attempt in assessing the potential trade in the region with latest dataset  with Gravity model approach.

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

2020 ◽  
Vol 01 (02) ◽  
pp. 2050008
Author(s):  
ADITI PAUL
Keyword(s):  
South Asia ◽  
South Asian ◽  
Regional Cooperation ◽  
Economic Liberalization ◽  
Economic Interdependence ◽  
Mutual Trust ◽  
The South ◽  
Regional Organizations ◽  
Peace And Security ◽  
Power Balancing

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.

Perception Survey of Asian Opinion Leaders

2017 ◽  
pp. 161-203 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pradumna B. Rana ◽  
Wai-Mun Chia
Keyword(s):  
South Asia ◽  
South Asian ◽  
Economic Integration ◽  
Regional Cooperation ◽  
East Asian ◽  
Opinion Leaders ◽  
Asian Countries ◽  
Economic Partnership ◽  
Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership ◽  
Perception Survey

This chapter presents the results of an online perception survey of South Asian and East Asian opinion leaders defined as representatives of the academia, government officials, business, and media. The objective of the survey was to assess the views of the stakeholders in SA and EA on the relative strengths of the key findings of the earlier chapters of the book. A sample of 5,300 respondents was selected and the survey was undertaken to assess the views of opinion leaders on findings and recommendations of the above chapters. Are the findings and recommendations robust? Among the questions asked were: What are the benefits and costs of SA/EA integration? What are the respective roles of market-led versus regional cooperation policies? Could SA/EA integration be an example of ‘open’ regionalism? What are the policies that SA should adopt under their LEP2 to link themselves with production networks in EA? What is the role of connectivity? What are the factors that have led to the revival of land connectivity or old South-western Silk Road in Asia? Should efforts to promote ASEAN–India connectivity be supported? Should the membership of East Asian institutions be expanded to cover South Asian countries or should South Asia establish its own institutions? In particular, should India be invited to join the various ASEAN+3 initiatives for financial cooperation? Should South Asian countries (other than India) be invited to join the negotiations for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership? Why is the level of economic integration in SA low and can SA–EA integration reinvigorate economic integration in South Asia?

Lessons from the European Union’s Economic Integration for South Asian Regionalism

2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 325-345
Author(s):  
Zahid Shahab Ahmed ◽  
Munir Hussain
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
South Asia ◽  
South Asian ◽  
Economic Integration ◽  
Regional Cooperation ◽  
Economic Cooperation ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Regional Trade ◽  
Gradual Process ◽  
Asian Regionalism

South Asian regionalism—mainly represented by the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)—has always been vulnerable to the influence of the long-standing bilateral disputes, and South Asian intra-regional trade and economic cooperation is limited. This article examines economic integration in Europe, from the 1950s to Britain’s decision to exit from the European Union (EU) in 2016, in order to identify possible lessons for the SAARC. In particular, this article makes use of Gürler’s model of economic integration to propose a way forward for economic cooperation through the SAARC. While the full implementation of the EU’s model of economic integration appears to be a distant reality for the SAARC, this article argues that a revitalized SAARC is nonetheless a suitable vehicle for pursuing a gradual process of economic cooperation in South Asia that may ultimately lead not only to economic integration but also the resolution of political disputes.

scholarly journals Climate change, regulatory policies and regional cooperation in South Asia

2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Habib Zafarullah ◽  
Ahmed Shafiqul Huque
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
South Asia ◽  
South Asian ◽  
Regional Cooperation ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The South ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Regulatory Policies ◽  
Asian Region ◽  
South Asian Region

Purpose With climate change and environmental degradation being major issues in the world today, it is imperative for governments within a regional setting to collaborate on initiatives, harmonize their policies and develop strategies to counter threats. In South Asia, several attempts have been made to create a common framework for action in implementing synchronized policies. However, both political and technical deterrents have thwarted moves to accommodate priorities and interests of collaborating states. The purpose of this paper is to assess these issues and existing policies/strategies in selected South Asian countries and evaluate integrated plans of action based on collaborative partnerships. Design/methodology/approach Using a broad exploratory and interpretive approach, this paper evaluates how harmonization of environmental principles and synergies among countries can help reduce the effect of climate change and environmental hazards. Based on a review of ideas and concepts as well as both primary and secondary sources, including official records, legislation, inter-state and regional agreements, evaluation reports, impact studies (social, economic and ecological), and commentaries, it highlights several initiatives and processes geared to creating environmental protection standards and practices for the South Asian region. Findings Climate change has resulted in devastating impacts on people. It contributed to the proliferation of climate refugees and high incidence of poverty in South Asia. The region faces both political and technical obstacles in developing a sustainable approach to combat climate change. This is exacerbated by non-availability of information as well as reluctance to acknowledge the problem by key actors. The best strategy will be to integrate policies and regulations in the various countries of the region to develop strategic plans. The approach of prevention and protection should replace the existing emphasis on relief and rehabilitation. Originality/value The paper provides a critical overview of the climatic and environmental problems encountered in the South Asian region and provides pointers to resolving shared problems through the use of policy instruments for regulating the problems within the gamut of regional environmental governance. It attempts to identify solutions to offset regulatory and institutional barriers in achieving preferred results by emphasizing the need for redesigning regulatory structures and policy approaches for ecological well-being.

scholarly journals Avoidant Coping of the Decision-Making Process on the Location of Care in Old Age: A Possible Conspiracy of Silence?

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (24) ◽  
pp. 12940
Author(s):  
Gema Serrano-Gemes ◽  
Isabel Gil ◽  
Adriana Coelho ◽  
Rafael Serrano-del-Rosal
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Palliative Care ◽  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Avoidant Coping ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Older Person ◽  
High Incidence ◽  
Conspiracy Of Silence

The conspiracy of silence is extremely important due to both its high incidence and its consequences. This process usually occurs in situations of palliative care, or death; however, this concept is also mentioned in the literature linked to other contexts. Therefore, our objective was to study whether the conspiracy of silence may be extrapolated to the context of decision-making on the location of care in old age. To this end, we first analyzed the in-depth semi structured qualitative interviews conducted with older people, caregivers, and professionals, about decision-making on the location of care in old age. Subsequently, a comparative analysis was performed between the basic elements of the conspiracy of silence and this decision-making. Our findings revealed an avoidance process developed by all three groups. Furthermore, this decision-making presents similarities with the conspiracy of silence in the process of avoidance coping and denial that is developed. However, there are significant differences, as information is not withheld from the older person, who has an active attitude in the process of avoidance. Decision-making on the location of care in old age does not exactly match the conspiracy of silence process, but it does seem to correspond to a pact of silence.

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