The Future Potential and Prospects of SAARC Regional Grouping: A Study

The renewed and reinvigorated engagement of India with the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) over the past few years has been one of the significant factors leading to the gradual and irreversible transition of the regional organisation from a declaratory phase to one of implementation (Bhagwati, 2008). The recent developments in the South Asian region, especially the new growth momentum that is observed and increasing openness that brings a fresh look at the economic integration of the region. In this context the study examines the opportunities and commodity potential of trade between India and the SAARC countries by adopting a variety of trade indices of export intensity index and import intensity index along with Gini coefficient. The authors further study the commodity trade potential between India and the SAARC countries by adopting the revealed comparative advantage index and revealed import dependency index. The study concludes an increasing export intensity and import intensity of trade between India and the other SAARC member countries. Finally, the values of Gravity coefficient and commodity analysis find a high trade potential between them and the untapped trade and investment scenario that could be tapped by strengthening the regional block of SAARC.

The social medicine specialty in southern Sweden

Aims: This article discusses the situation of the social medicine specialty in Skåne, southern Sweden with the aim of understanding the long-term trends of this medical specialty in Skåne and its relation to research in social medicine. Results: In the 1950s to 1980s, there was a balance between clinical and preventive practice, and research. This balance was maintained in the 1980s to early 2000s as the medical specialty and the research moved ‘upstream’ in the chain of causality to psychosocial, socio-economic and contextual determinants of health. The increasingly ‘upstream’ character of the specialty and particularly its new position in the regional organisation since 2010 may have made it more vulnerable to general executive-level reorganisations. Conclusions: The specialty should maintain its ‘upstream’ focus but regain its proximal scope in prevention, epidemiology and health equity. It should regain its place in the health-care system organisation or alternatively become a state-based instead of regional specialty.

Tourism: how to achieve the sustainable development goals?

Purpose The purpose is to provide an overview as to how the sustainable development goals (SDGs) are being implemented by countries with different tourism requirements and resources. In so doing, this theme issue presents case studies from across the globe and examines them from academic and practitioner perspectives. The case studies cover: hospitality, tourism agriculture, events, small and medium sized businesses, sport, the African Union as a regional organisation and wildlife tourism. Ultimately, the objective is to encourage countries to implement the SDGs by highlighting the benefits they bring to the economy, society and the environment. Design/methodology/approach This paper outlines the theme issue approach which draws on a blend of case studies, online sources, literature review and industry reports. This combination of primary, secondary and tertiary data enables a meaningful analysis of the implementation of SDGs in destinations with different requirements and characteristics. Findings The theme issue findings provide insights on the history, status and progress of SDGs in hospitality and tourism worldwide. Based on reviews and practical evidence, it is clear that many countries have not yet successfully implemented the SDGs, whereas others have made significant progress by embracing sustainable action. The overall observations point towards collaboration between stakeholders, and the scale of organisations as a sine qua non condition for the achievement of sustainability. Originality/value The value of this theme issue is that it presents a variety of case studies that demonstrate how different countries have successfully implemented the SDGs and the challenges faced while embracing those actions. Each case presented is unique and the variety of strategies proposed therein serves as guide to practitioners and destination managers. Further, the findings may be applicable to other geographic regions with similar contexts.

The ASEM Education Process: Implications for higher education internationalization in Malaysia

The education process of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) has played an important role in higher education internationalisation since the establishment of ASEM in Bangkok, Thailand in 1996. The ASEM Education Process (AEP) consists of 53 ASEM partners and more than 15 ASEM education stakeholders who meet regularly for discussions on policies and reform measures. There are four priority areas and two transversal themes introduced in the AEP for policy direction and strategy implementation in the field of higher education. Malaysia has participated in the AEP since 2008 and has led and organised various initiatives and meetings on the internationalisation of higher education and global recognition. This study aims to explore the implications of the AEP for the process of internationalisation of higher education in Malaysia. A qualitative study with semi-structured interviews was conducted with fifteen senior officers of the Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia and five Malaysian research universities. The data were analysed by employing the Qualitative Data Analysis software, the Nvivo version 11, to identify themes and categories. The findings reveal that the AEP can play a major role in internationalising Malaysian higher education through effective networking and strategic alliances. The four priority areas of the AEP has provided opportunities for Malaysia to work closely with European and Asian counterparts in the field of higher education. The findings can assist the Malaysian higher education stakeholder to participate actively in the inter-regional organisation to learn and share best practices and to formulate and revise policies on higher education internationalisation.

OSZE-Jahrbuch 2019

As the world’s largest regional organisation under Chapter VIII of the UN Charter, the OSCE also contributes to global security through regional conflict prevention and crisis management. In his introductory chapter, OSCE Secretary General Thomas Greminger addresses the question of how the OSCE can also contribute to the achievement of the 17 goals of the United Nations for sustainable development. The OSCE Yearbook 2019 also includes articles on domestic political developments in countries such as Armenia and Kazakhstan, and the work of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine. There are also contributions on the monitoring of freedom of assembly by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights and the link between climate change and security, as well as the integration of heterogeneous societies as a means of conflict prevention, and China’s and the EU’s relations with Central Asia. A current selection of literature completes the volume.

The EU Language Policy as a Tool

The European Union (EU) is a multilingual union, which has 27 official languages. There is no other international or regional organisation that has so many official languages. Since its very beginning, the official languages of the member states are the official languages of the EU. The multilingualism of the EU is not just about the official languages of the EU but also because of the numerous indigenous regional and minority languages. The language policy of the EU can be traced back to the Treaty of Rome and the first regulation. Since then, the language policy of the EU has changed parallel with the developments and changes within the EU and in the world. First, it was evaluated as a tool for personal development and integration, but with the changes in the globalized world, it became a tool to increase the competitiveness of the EU, which can be seen as a soft power at the international level. This chapter aims to show the changing role of the EU's language policy and its current status as a powerful tool in the knowledge-based economies at the international level.

THE 2019 SUDAN COUP AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION BY THE AFRICAN UNION

The intervention of the African Union (AU) in the 2019 coup and post-coup crisis of Sudan is the focal point of this study. The objective of the study is to evaluate the peaceful resolution of the 2019 coup and post-coup crisis in Sudan by the African Union. The research questions of the study are: What is the background of the 2019 Sudan Coup? What role did the Forces of Freedom and Change play in the 2019 coup and post-coup crisis of Sudan? How effective is the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) with respect to its mandate to intervene in member states. What are the methods used by the AU as it intervened in the 2019 coup and post-coup crisis in Sudan? The study is guided by the theoretical framework of Collective Security theory with major proponents such as Cardinal Richelieu Immanuel Kant, Woodrow Wilson etc. The study concludes that the prominent role played by the AU in the coup and post-coup crisis in Sudan is highly commendable but the lessons drawn there from can enhance future operations. The study recommends that the military capacity of the African Standby Force should be invigorated with adequate manpower and firepower to effectively carry out peace enforcement operations. Also the AU should draw a template and procedure for interface with the regional organisation of the state engulfed in conflict or crisis that the APSA is to mediate to avoid disjointed and uncoordinated mediation. The qualitative research methodology was adopted for the study.

SOUTHEAST ASIA REGIONAL COOPERATION ON TACKLING MARINE PLASTIC LITTER

The sea covers 70% of the earth and is the source of livelihood for people all over the world. It is estimated that each year 6-12 million tons of plastic are dumped into the ocean. In the Southeast Asian region, the concentration of marine plastic litter in the ocean has reached a severe level. Six out of the 10 ASEAN countries are listed on the Top 20 of countries ranked by mass of the mismanaged plastic waste. Various legal instruments and supporting programs have been developed. However, the existence of these instruments and programs have not had a significant impact on combating marine plastic litter. This study aims to find out how a regional community can conquer the severe pollution of our oceans. This research uses normative legal analysis with secondary data sources and literature study techniques. The result of the research showed ASEAN initiated the regional cooperation amongst southeast Asia states in combating marine plastic litters as the competent regional organisation that carried out through institutional frameworks and subsidiary working groups, which have enacted two regional soft-law instruments, namely the Bangkok Declaration on Marine Debris and the ASEAN Framework for Action on Marine Debris.

The Limits of Intergovernmentalism: The Philippines’ Changing Strategy in the South China Sea Dispute and Its Impact on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)

Focusing on the Philippines’ changing foreign policy agendas on the South China Sea dispute, this article examines the limitations of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ (ASEAN) intergovernmental approach in addressing security challenges in the Indo-Pacific region. It contends that former President Benigno Aquino III tried to harness this regional organisation in his balancing policy vis-à-vis China’s maritime expansion in the South China Sea. On the contrary, President Rodrigo Duterte promoted his appeasement policy on China when he became the ASEAN’s chairperson in 2017, and pushed for the elusive passage of the ASEAN–China Code of Conduct in 2019. In conclusion, the article scrutinises the implications of this shift in the Philippines’ foreign policy for the ASEAN, and raises the need for this regional organisation to rethink its intergovernmental approach to the security challenges posed by the changing geopolitics of the Indo-Pacific region.

The Impact of the GDPR on Extra-EU Legal Systems

The chapter discusses the influence of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) on legal systems extra-EU and particularly the Kingdom of Bahrain, country member to a regional organisation located in the Arabian Gulf denominated Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which is exclusive to six states (i.e., Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Qatar, and Kuwait in addition to Bahrain). Amongst these countries, Bahrain is the only one that has recently enacted its own separate Personal Data Protection Law (PDPL) mostly resembling the GDPR due to the ever-increasing commercial relationship with business undertakings in Europe. Moreover, the adoption of the data protection law counts as a huge leap forward taken by the kingdom in reforming its legal framework, since it is the state's striving strategy to grow into a midpoint for data centre, just on time for the launch of data centres opening in Bahrain that are endorsed by Amazon Web Services.