Regionalism and Regional Security in South Asia: An Examination of the Role and Achievements of SAARC

Abstract

This thesis aimed at evaluating the progress of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), since its establishment in 1985. This study is significant because it has gone beyond the limited appraisal of SAARC in any particular area, such as economic integration, to present a detailed appraisal of cooperation under the overarching themes of economic cooperation, environmental security, human welfare, and cooperation in security matters (e.g. anti-terrorism). A detailed case study was pertinent for the purpose of presenting a critique of the Association's functionalist approach to regionalism vis-à-vis a basic assumption that cooperation in noncontroversial areas would pave the way for meaningful cooperation in sensitive areas, such as terrorism, and ultimately lead to regional security. As there is a plethora of literature available on SAARC, a new approach examining regionalism in South Asia was imperative. Apart from the reviewing of conceptual and empirical literature, and content analysis of official documents, this thesis is based on viewpoints from within SAARC extracted through interviews with officials and direct interactions with them while on an internship at the Secretariat. The external insights on the organisation were also collected through interviews of academics, researchers and journalists.