South Asian Integration Research Articles

Assessing the trade–connectivity linkages in South Asia in post-pandemic period: an empirical investigation

The study unravels the relationship between trade and connectivity and presents a narrative to re-energise the South Asian regional economic integration in the post-pandemic period. In addition, the study also examines the effect on conflicts and institutional factors in South Asian trade. The study uses the bilateral gravity analysis in 2SLS (Two-Stage Least Squares) framework to address the endogeneity issues. The study finds that South Asia may gain enormously if they reduce the conflicts across the border and secure improvement in both hard and soft infrastructure. Given that the trade is a dynamic concept, connectivity disruption costs cause havoc to the region, which then promotes dis-integration. Facilitating business beyond the border in post-pandemic requires an enhanced trade facilitation and connectivity in the region. The renewed and shared agenda of the South Asian regional cooperation in post-pandemic should, therefore, aim to reduce both intra- and inter- regional trade facilitation gaps as well as to expand the connectivity. The process of South Asian regional integration has to contribute to narrowing the gaps by providing resources for the development of trade infrastructure. Therefore, South Asia has to enhance its own connectivity and trade facilitation arrangement to take forward the agenda of South Asian integration.

State of the Regional Integration Within South Asian Association for Regional Organisation (SAARC): Assessment of India’s Leadership

South Asia is one of the least integrated regions in terms of trade and people-to-people contact. With the goal of promoting regionalism, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) was founded in 1985 and now has eight South Asian countries as a member (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka). India alone controls more than 80% of all variables, including economy, size, and population. Thus, the entire regional integration of South Asia has been and will continue to be dependent on India’s intentions regarding SAARC. As a result of several bilateral disagreements between the organisation’s member states, the SAARC has been dubbed a dysfunctional, talk-shop, and dead organisation. Having said that, this article aims to investigate the role of India as a regional leader as well as its intention and approach towards South Asian integration. Similarly, this document also assesses the effect of India’s leadership on the regional integration of South Asia. This article is based on the qualitative method of research and thus uses discourse analysis as the main methodology. As primary sources, discourse analyses in international relations often examine official speeches, declarations, legislative debates, diplomatic documents, interviews, newspapers, and editorials. Other scholarly works, novels, and conceptual histories can be analysed in addition to these.

SAARC – Time To Change


 This paper examines SAARC’s performance and failures as a regional cooperation forum, since its establishment with the signing of the SAARC Charter in Dhaka on 8 December 1985. First, it briefly reviews the recent geopolitical situation in South Asia. Against the backdrop of the evolving geopolitical situation, the paper reviews South Asian integration in a nutshell. It then examines the progress and failures of SAARC as a regional forum in four key areas of regional cooperation and integration: trade, money and finance, and people-to-people contacts. From the available empirical evidence, the paper deciphers that regional integration under SAARC has progressed at a far lower momentum than what was expected at the time of its formation. Progress in regional cooperation under SAARC also compares poorly with similar regional forums in both Europe and Southeast Asia. Against this backdrop, this paper synthesizes the existing studies on SAARC, and comes up with ambitious yet pragmatic policy options for fast-tracking the forum’s economic integration.

Twenty-First Century Regionalism: Impact on South Asia

The paper is an attempt to review twenty-first century regionalism and its impact on South Asia, which includes the rising role of China and Pakistan’s pivot status as contributing factors to peace, growth, and development. This coincides with a more south-oriented world. The theory applied is NeoFunctionalism, which explains the European integration and may be used to explain the potential modern South Asian integration process with China as a pre-cursor. This will perhaps be a positive outcome of the twenty-first century regionalism. The paper dwells upon intra-regional integration, sighting Eurasian model of connectivity as an example, and how it can be a role-model for developing countries. The emphasis remains on improved relations between Pakistan and India as a pre-requisite for regionalism to take off in South Asia.

Book Review: Sanjay Kathuria, Arti Grover, Viviana Maria Eugenia Perego, Aaditya Mattoo and Pritam Banerjee, Unleashing E-commerce for South Asian Integration

Book Review: Sanjay Kathuria, Arti Grover, Viviana Maria Eugenia Perego, Aaditya Mattoo and Pritam Banerjee, <i>Unleashing E-commerce for South Asian Integration</i>

THE APPLICABILITY OF ADOPTING EUROPEAN UNION’S INTEGRATION MODEL IN SOUTH ASIA: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF EUROPEAN UNION AND SOUTH ASIAN ASSOCIATION FOR REGIONAL COOPERATION

The European integration is three decades older than the South Asian integration. European Union stands as an outstanding regional body even though South Asian Association for regional Cooperation is still struggling to achieve the basic premises of economic integration. The aim of this paper is to comparatively analyze the two regional integrations and to identify how far is it appropriate to adopt the European integration model to accelerate the South Asian integration. One specific objective is to identify the core differences between the two regional settings and next objective is to determine the theoretical relevance of certain existing theories in describing the two integration processes. Another specific objective is to evaluate the suitability of adopting European Union model in South Asia and to recommend necessary reforms for better integration in South Asia.Data triangulation method has been used to accumulate secondary data from multiple sources available in electronic and printed form including books, journals, web, reports, historical records and treaties. Qualitative content analysis has been used since this is a documentary analysis and Content analysis evaluate document texts and to test theoretical relevance to understand data more comprehensively and scientifically. It will test prevailing theories in different contexts when compare the categories of different settings. Key findings depicts that there is a sharp diversity between the European Union and South Asia in terms of trade, economic development, human development, industrialization, urbanization, trade liberalization, income levels, poverty alleviation and political integration. Amidst these differences the applicability of adopting the European model proves to be a failure due to many factors. The democratic nature of the countries and their practice of free market economic policies along with the successful resolutions for political tensions in Europe significantly caused the long term success of European integration whereas South Asian countries are suffering from huge diversities in economic, geographic, cultural, trade and military terms within the region and hesitate to co-operate with one another due to these differences. Indo-Pakistan political tensions blended with smaller states? fear psychosis of Indian hegemony is the greatest constraint for better integration in South Asia. South Asia required rearranging the structure of its regional organization and opening avenues to discuss contentious issues among member states. Establishment of real democracies and reliable interactions among people to people contacts while adopting more comprehensive free market economic policies domestically would facilitate the economic and political integration of South Asia in the future.

Payment Systems to Facilitate South Asian Integration

Considerable technology-based evolution in payment systems offers opportunities for convergence to a regional payment system. Though South Asian wholesale payment systems are more developed, compared to retail, and smaller countries still lag behind, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation Payment Council offers a forum to facilitate convergence. The existing Asian Clearing Union can also be revitalized using developments in payment systems. Changes include faster settlement using real-time flow through the system backed by local liquidity encouraging local currency use, reduction in transaction costs and delays, expansion of facilities offered, types of flows allowed and number of participants. Invoicing in local currencies reduces pass through of changes in exchange rates, and hence lowers their inflationary impact. Electronic systems can discriminate between types of flows and provide detailed information without procedural delays, reducing security concerns.

Assessing the Experience of South AsiaaEast Asia Integration and India's Role

This paper examines the gains for South Asian economies from integrating with East Asia and India’s role in this process. Evidence of increased pan-Asian integration exists but the process is uneven. Bilateral trade has grown. As have bilateral foreign direct investment flows and free trade agreements (FTAs), albeit at a slower pace than trade. The integration process has been led by India and Pakistan with limited participation of smaller South Asian economies. Tackling key impediments in cross-border infrastructure, FTAs, trade barriers and business regulations, and barriers to services will foster further integration. Computable general equilibrium (CGE) simulations suggest that a South Asia–East Asia FTA offers the most gains for South Asia and that India has an incentive to include its neighbors in such an arrangement rather than going it alone with East Asia. The rest of South Asia will gain by deepening South Asian integration and fostering ties with East Asia.

Will South Asia Benefit from Pan-Asian Integration?

This article examines the gains for South Asian economies from integrating with East Asia and India’s role in this process. Evidence of increased pan-Asian integration exists but the process is uneven. Bilateral trade has grown. Bilateral foreign direct investment flows and free trade agreements (FTAs) have also increased, albeit at a slower pace than trade. The integration process has been led by India and Pakistan with limited participation of smaller South Asian economies. Tackling key impediments in infrastructure, FTAs, trade barriers and business regulations, and barriers to services will foster further integration. Computable general equilibrium simulations suggest that a South Asia–East Asia FTA offers the most gains for South Asia and that India has an incentive to include its neighbours in such an arrangement rather than going it alone with East Asia. The rest of South Asia will gain by deepening South Asian integration and fostering ties with East Asia.