STRATEGIC ANALYSIS

SAARC at Twenty-Five: An Incredible Idea Still in Its Infancy

Smruti S. Pattanaik is Research Fellow at the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi. Click here for detailed profile
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  • September 2010
    Volume: 
    34
    Issue: 
    5
    Commentaries

    The SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) summit is often described as being a mere photo opportunity for south Asian leaders who should actually be using the comatose organisation to reinvent regional cooperation in a globalised world. Such pessimism is inevitable if one takes stock of the progress that SAARC has made over the period of time. There exists a SAARC convention to deal with all issues that have a certain salience in the regional context. Yet, even 25 years after its inception the organisation is found wanting both in terms of forming a regional identity and of forging any sense of a regional belongingness.

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