SAARC at 30 – New Perspectives on Regional Cooperation in South Asia

Abstract

With the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) in its thirtieth year, the time is ripe for an assessment of the organisation’ s performance in the past three decades, and an evaluation of its future challenges and opportunities. Founded in 1985 as an institutional space for the then seven member countries (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and the Maldives) to further their international economic linkages, to promote welfare, accelerate economic growth, contribute to mutual trust, and to maintain peace in the region, SAARC can at best present a mixed record. Border disputes, distrust and division rather than unity continue to determine the state of affairs in South Asia. However, SAARC, in a move to find an identity-constituting core, has in recent years placed a stronger emphasis on the role of culture for a regional governance framework, and is also increasingly becoming the contact organisation of another transnational institution—the EU. Finding its role vis-à-vis other, more influential associations such as ASEAN, SCO, BRICS, or the EU will continue to be one of the many challenges SAARC will have to confront successfully if it wants to avoid drifting off into irrelevance. By bringing together experts on South Asia, East Asia, and international relations, the panel provides an analysis of the changing geo-strategic role of SAARC which has not least become apparent with the acceptance of Afghanistan as an eighth member in 2007, and its changing position towards China, an omnipresent player in the Asian region. With the 2014 Indian national elections, which are likely to bring a change in government, time and strategic demands also call for a re-evaluation of India’s role between regional hegemon and honest broker.