Challenges of Regional Integration in South Asia from the Perspective of Intergovernmentalism

Subject Areas :

Hadi Narouei ¹

1 - PhD student of International Relations, Faculty of Humanities, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran.

Received: 2023-10-03 Accepted : 2024-01-15 Published : 2023-11-22

Keywords: South Asia, conflicting interests, Intergovernmentalism, Regional Integration Challenges, Security Policies,

Abstract :

The integration process in the South Asian region started with the inspiration of the European Union at the end of the 20th century. In order to make this happen and encourage integration, organizations like SAARC and BIMSTEC were founded, although these initiatives were not successful in practice. From 2014 onwards, due to the revival of India's First Neighborhood Policy, a positive perspective for regional integration emerged once more in the South Asian region. Despite various steps being taken and the inclusion of India as an emerging global economy in the region, true regional integration in South Asia hasn't materialized thus far. This article aims to analyze the challenges faced in achieving regional integration in South Asia. By focusing on the theory of Intergovernmentalism, the hypothesis explores how not only the differences and conflicting interests between India and Pakistan but also the differences and conflicting interests between India and the smaller countries of South Asia have hindered the convergence of the region. The study adopts a Hypothetico-deductive method and the data gathering procedure is based on library findings. The research findings indicate that security policies and individual interests of countries, including India, take precedence over economic cooperation and regional integration.

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