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GIARI Working Paper Vol.2008-E-26

Regional Integration to Address Poverty and Human Insecurity in South Asia: Problems and Prospects for Mainstreaming Asian Integration

Md. Shanawez Hossain
Ph.D. Student, Graduate School of Asia-Pacific Studies,
Waseda University

February 2009
[232KB]

With increasing trends of globalization, human insecurity issues in one country easily become concerns or even threats for neighboring as well as for far distant countries. Against this background, regional integration strategies are receiving priority attention in the international arena. This paper explores how South Asian nations are addressing issues of poverty and other common threats to secure the lives of about one-fifth of the world’s population living there. The analysis shows that South Asian integration was initially focused on economic integration to achieve sustainable development, but against the globalization trends, mere economic growth has failed to solve key issues of human insecurity and the regional countries’ focus has begun to shift to social issues. Although they have achieved some successes, conflicts over common problems among the South Asian countries as well as the non-interference principle they have adopted in integration mechanisms have prevented them from achieving the targeted goal of poverty reduction and human security promotion. This paper argues that in the face of new threats such as climate change, infectious diseases, and food crisis, South Asian nations need to develop an integration strategy that is in line with East Asian as well as global strategies and that such strategies and initiatives will create opportunities for greater “Asian Integration” and for the building of an “Asian Community,” which is free from the curse of poverty and other sources of human insecurity.

Introduction
Definitions of Main Terms
Poverty and Human Insecurities in South Asia: Sources and Trends
Regional Integration Strategies to Address Poverty and Human Insecurity in South Asia
Regional Economic Cooperation in South Asia to Fight Poverty and Human Insecurity
South Asian Regional Initiatives to Fight Poverty
Peace and Regional Integration in South Asia: An Analysis
Problems and Prospects of South Asian, East Asian, and Asian Integration
Conclusion