Creative Writing


saarc important summits and cons
of 12
Related Documents
  SAARC: Introduction: The world today is at a turning point. The changes that we are undergoing are global in scope, revolutionary, fundamental and structural in content. As we have entered the 21st century a sense of optimism prevails for attaining peace and  prosperity through effective role-play of regional as well as global organizations. Many view Asia as having a variety of characteristics in common with Europe of the nineteenth century: underdeveloped international institutions, mixed domestic orders, rising nationalism, high but differential growth rates, and bitter, emotional rivalries between insecure neighbors. The success of states in today‟s world is not so much measured in  terms of capacity for defending borders or creating uniquely national institutions, but in terms of ability to adapt to regional and global trends, promote exports, attract investments, and skilled labour, provide a beneficial environment for transnational companies, build attractive institutions of research and higher learning, wield  political influence on the regional and global scene, and also brand the nation culturally in the international market-place.1 Consequently, regional associations are fast becoming an important and effective new scene for political and economic interaction in the world. In this new environment the importance of regional community and functional groupings has  been heightened. Regional, political and religious blocs of nations now provide  platforms for a number of countries to exercise influence in global affairs. Interest in greater regional economic integration, fuelled partly by the achievement of an economic union and a single currency in Europe, has grown in different parts of the world. This includes South Asia and the regional organization known as South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), which has announced the goal of attaining an economic union and expressed the desire for a common currency. SAARC is a fairly recent association, established in 1985 by the seven member states of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. These seven countries differ greatly in land area, GDP, and Population, although they have similar levels of human and economic Development. They also share the unusual feature of having a common Border with one another member country. The objective of this paper is to present some  preliminary information Relevant to the pattern and process of regional economic integration in the Member states under SAARC in the region. Today world is divided into two major categories. The states whose Influence goes beyond a  particular region the world powers and those whose influence is confined to a  particular region the regional Powers.  Globalism Globalism is defined as a borderless world programe that implies a Tendency towards a global social system. Its historical srcins reached a  New stage in the post-Second World War era since the sense of Geographical distance has dramatically changed; some even speak of “the   End of geography”. The w orld is now considered as one global village. Globalization is a new phenomenon. There is an intricate relationship Between regionalization and globalization. Compared to regionalism with an impressive theoretical tradition behind it, globalism is a more recent concept in social sciences. Whether its consequences are seen as catastrophic or as the ultimate unification of the world, the concept of globalisation is often used in a rather loose and ideological sense. However, there are also many definitions of regionalism. For the critics, the regionalist trend constitutes a threat to the multilateral system, on the other hand, for the enthusiasts the regionalism could form the basis for an improved multilateral system. The effectiveness of regional governance arrangements has been recognized since the end of the Second World War. Now regionalism has emerged as one of the dominant themes of World politics in the post-Cold War era. In this world of globalization, the nature of competition presses towards the formation of larger units, both for economic efficiency and to ensure the political power necessary to bargain effectively over the rules and institutions that govern the world economy. European Union, NAFTA, ASEAN are the examples of state-driven integration policies which are effectively responding to the challenges of international competition. Economic integration that encompasses broad areas of socio-political, economic and cultural links with nations joining together in a forum generally belongs to one or several regions.2 The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), European Union (EU), North American Free Trade Area (NAFTA) are few examples of such integration. The degree of economic integration ranges from preferential trade arrangements (PTA) to free trade area (FTA), customs union (CU), common market (CM) and economic union (EU).3 The study of regionalism lies in the problem of how conflict can be avoided and how cooperation and stability can be maintained. Regionalism Regions in international  politics are described as „a limited number of   states linked by a geographical relationship and by a degree of mutual independence‟ and could be differentiated according to the level and scope  of exchange, formal organizations, and political interdependence.4 It  involves formal and informal agreements marked by “explicit and implicit   principles, norms, rules and decision-making procedures around which actors‟ expectations converge in a given area of international relations.”5  Regionalization does not come about unless the states in a particular region want it. It may come about through political regime, economic  policy or security but often triggers from political events that set the  process in motion. The foreign policy and political events identify this change in a state as an actor in regional integration process. Region as a geographical unit is delimited by more or less through natural physical  barriers and is marked by ecological characteristics that as social system imply trans-local relations between human groups. Region is organized for cooperation in the cultural, economic, and political and security fields. Region in civil society takes shape when the organizational framework facilitates and promotes social communication and convergence of values throughout the region. Region has a distinct identity, a legitimate structure of decision-making and actor capability. Crucial areas for regional integration lead to conflict resolution within the member states and help creation of welfare, social security and regional balance. This process is similar to state formation and nation building, and the ultimate outcome is a voluntary evolution of a group of sovereign national, political units into a supranational security community, where sovereignty is pooled for the best of all. For Deutsch, integration is a relationship among units, which makes them interdependent, and those units produce such properties within the system that they would lack in separate cases.6 Cohesion of an integrated system can be measured by its capacity to withstand stress and strain, support disequilibria, and resist disruptions. Thus, strain-survival capacity of an integrated system is directly proportional to its cohesion.7 Regional integration was traditionally seen as a harmonization of trade policies leading to deeper economic integration, with political integration as a possible future result. The concept of regionalism refers to a transformation of a particular region from relative heterogeneity to increased homogeneity with regard to a number of dimensions, the most important being culture, security, economic policies and political regimes. The convergence along these four dimensions may be a natural process or a politically steered one or, most likely, a mixture of the two. A certain level of sameness is necessary but not a sufficient condition. Furthermore, all regions are hardly equal in their potential for institutional formation and success. Not only do they vary in their homogeneity by the above criteria,  but they also vary immensely in the resources they can bring to bear on the  problems of their member states. Changes in political regimes today  typically mean democratization and changes in economic policies nowadays normally go in the direction of economic openness. The dynamics of regionalization thus constitute the interaction between these dimensions found at different levels in the world society. On the global level, the changing structure of the world system provides autonomy for the regional actors, as the process of regionalization in itself constitutes a structural change towards multipolarity and globalization. On the level of interregional relations the behaviour of one region affects the behaviour of other regions. European regionalism is, for instance, the trigger of global regionalization, at least in two different ways: one positive, in promoting regionalism by providing a model, the other negative, in provoking regionalism by constituting a protectionist threat. Thus regions themselves constitute arenas for sometimes competing and sometimes converging national interests for emerging as an effective regional actor. Origin and Evolution of SAARC After the analysis of theories of globalism and regionalism, it becomes imperative to find out the rationale for regional cooperation in South Asia. Besides, it is desirable to look at the evolutionary process of regional cooperation in South Asia to assess the pace of regionalism in reaching at its present destination as SAARC. The evolution passed through four phases that include: Conception (1977-80) The Meeting of Foreign Secretaries (1981-83), the Meeting of Foreign Ministers (1983-85), and The Summits (1985-2004). The first concrete proposal for establishing a framework for regional cooperation in South Asia was made by the late president of Bangladesh, Ziaur Rahman, on May 2, 1980. Prior to this, the idea of regional cooperation in South Asia was discussed in at least three conferences: the Asian Relations Conference in  New Delhi in April 1947, the Baguio Conference in the Philippines in May 1950, and the Colombo Powers Conference in April 1954.8 since 1977, the Bangladesh  president seemed to have been working on the idea of an ASEAN-like organization in South Asia.9 During his visit to India in December 1977, Ziaur Rahman discussed the issue of regional cooperation with the new Indian Prime Minister, Morarji Desai. In the inaugural speech to the Colombo Plan Consultative Committee which met in Kathmandu in December 1977, King Birendra of Nepal gave a call for close regional cooperation among South Asian countries in sharing river waters. President Ziaur Rahman welcomed the King‟ s call during the former‟s visit to Bangladesh in January 1978.  President Ziaur Rahman had also informally discussed the idea of regional cooperation with the leaders of South Asian countries during the Commonwealth Summit in Lusaka (1979) and the Non-Aligned Summit in Havana (1979). However, the Bangladesh president seems to have given a concrete shape to the proposal after his visit to Sri Lanka and discussion
We Need Your Support

Thanks to everyone for your continued support.

No, Thanks