Wednesday, November 30, 2005

What Vision for South Asian Regional Cooperation?

Dr. Prakash Chandra Lohani, Former foreign minister, Nepal

South Asia as a region presents a scene of both hope and confusion. The region is characterized by a strong thread of underlying natural unity whether it is geographic, economic, and ecological or natural resource distribution. The great rivers of the region for example provide the basis for ecological unity that can hardly be ignored. But it is also a source of cultural diversity that nevertheless forms-- the basis of what could be labeled as the South Asian civilization. From the high mountains of the Himalayas to the southernmost tip of the sub continent and beyond there is an invisible thread of a South Asian civilization that seems to provide an invisible link in defining the region. South Asia at the same time is also a region that has seven sovereign political states with their own concept of national interests and identity. The civilizational commonality that emerges out of the natural ecology. Economic interactions and spiritual search through the ages has to be viewed within the canvass of political diversity that is also one of the most crucial defining characteristics of the present. The logic of national interests of each individual nation that is in harmony with the collective interests of the all the seven nations emerges as the most crucial element in defining a vision for the region.

The seven nations in South Asia range from one of the smallest to one of the largest nation in the world. Out of seven two are landlocked and two are island nations. Mass poverty is one of the defining characteristics of the region and yet the human arid natural resources available make it one of the most promising areas of socio- economic transformation in the decades to come. The gap between potential and the reality remains wide and the nature of tension and conflict that have characterized the region have acted as a great damper in generating a capacity for collective action. The results so far has been a record of regional cooperation that is more for namesake than for results. The data of regional trade, capital flows, industrial cooperation, natural resource utilization, and infrastructure development etc during the last fifteen years of efforts towards regional cooperation testify to this point. The political mindset of the ruling elite has yet to internalize the fact that the seven nation configuration of the region and the resulting seven vectors of national interests need not be viewed as road blocks for cooperation in a whole range of areas ranging from infrastructure and natural resource utilization to poverty alleviation and trade. This is because there is really no South Asian vision of regional cooperation that is sustained and supported by necessary values, structures and processes.

The vision for regional cooperation has to start with the basic premise that it has to be a win win situation for all the countries both in political and economic terms. Only then can we expect powerful stakeholders in each country to emerge-- groups that will actively advocate for the cause for regional cooperation. The need for regional cooperation in this sense has to be viewed as a strategic objective of the region rather than a tactical gesture to be pursued more as a fashion of the hour.

The Vision

Before 1980 the seven countries in South Asia, even though neighbors, geographically shared a mind set that veered towards a position of benign neglect of each other as much as possible and ignored the benefits that could be harnessed through a proper appreciation of the economics of neighborhood. In 1980 a beginning was made by Bangladesh to change this position with the idea of South Asian Association of Regional cooperation. Soon meetings on this theme were held and the SAARC became a reality in the first South Asian summit (1985) held in Dacca, Bangladesh. The objectives of the Charter stressed among others the promotion of the welfare and the improvement in the quality of life of the people of the region. There was a call for rapid economic and social development and an emphasis on promoting mutual trust and confidence as well as understanding each other's problems and constraints.

The idea of regional cooperation including a willingness to understand each other's problems and constraints was a bold idea especially when we consider the fact that in the preceding thirty years all the countries in the region seemed more interested in asserting their links with countries outside their region. This was one way to affirm their independence in decision making Vis a Vis the bigger power India which was in many cases viewed as the big brother not always sensitive to neighboring problems and aspirations. As a region South Asia was then and still remains not a peace zone but a conflict zone. Trying to promote a new era trust and cooperation that will affect positively the lives of citizens of all countries in a region characterized by issues of hard core emotional conflict and tension was indeed a courageous move that qualifies as a vision.

A vision is the expression of a state of affairs that is worth striving for. It is a continuous process that acts as a beacon towards the future path to be taken to achieve something worthwhile and meaningful. A vision for South Asian Regional Cooperation has to be conceptualized on a tight rope of conflicting objectives and emotions. On the one hand the new vision should encompass the welfare of the people of the whole region as its focus of action that implicitly implies a willingness to transcend political boundaries if necessary in many areas that may affect the productivity of national economies. But there is also the absolute reality of seven plural sovereignties that are extremely sensitive to their sense of nationhood and the right to independent decision making without interference from neighboring sources. A South Asian Vision of regional cooperation in this setting has to be a imaginative, creative and also a moral statement that is sound in the context promoting human dignity, strengthening national sovereignty and providing adequate ideological space for Mutually beneficial regional economic integration over time in a setting that is peaceful and secure to all the people in the region. But transformation of this nature is not possible to contemplate unless we are also clear about the values necessary for the process to move forward. This indeed is the most difficult part because as it is aptly said: old values die-hard. But old values must change if the new vision is to materialize. A vision that is divorced from a commitment to the necessary values faces the danger of turning into cheap and even hypocritical slogan that can only generate cynicism, fatigue and a new cycle of tension over time. In the case of SAARC this should be a major issue of concern.

Values are in many cases normative conditions for dynamic stability and could be institutionalized over time as operative codes that are naturally referred to when making decisions,

The values must be in line with the vision and then there must also emerge over time the structures and the decision processes that support the vision Any break or weakness in the chain will only go to make the task of regional cooperation that is meaningful to the people of the region that much more difficult.