{"id":1485,"date":"2026-08-09T19:12:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-09T13:42:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/psir-pyq\/since-its-inception-the-south-asian-association-for-regional-upsc-psir-2013-3603\/"},"modified":"2026-08-12T21:24:56","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T15:54:56","slug":"since-its-inception-the-south-asian-association-for-regional-upsc-psir-2013-3603","status":"publish","type":"psir_pyq","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/psir-pyq\/since-its-inception-the-south-asian-association-for-regional-upsc-psir-2013-3603\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cSince its inception the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) has failed to deliver on its promises.\u2019 What initiatives should be taken to reinvigorate the organization?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"pq-flow\">\n<div class=\"pq-flow-h\">Flow snapshot <em>\u2014 how the answer moves<\/em><\/div>\n<div class=\"pq-fb\">\n<div class=\"pq-pill p1\"><span>Intro routes<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"pq-ft\">\n<p class=\"pq-r\"><i class=\"pq-rt\">Route 1<\/i> South Asia a region economically\/culturally, never politically or on security <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> SAARC (Dhaka 1985) built on consensus <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> revival must begin where politics cannot reach \/<\/p>\n<p class=\"pq-r\"><i class=\"pq-rt\">Route 2<\/i> premise conceded, but the deficit is political, not institutional <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> so the demand is sequencing the initiatives, not listing them<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"pq-fb\">\n<div class=\"pq-pill p2\"><span>Body flow<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"pq-ft\">\n<p>institutions exist (Development Fund, University, Food Bank) but unanimity blocks <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> <b class=\"pq-sc\">Jaishankar<\/b> \u201cjammed vehicle\u201d \/ no summit since 2014 <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> <b class=\"pq-sc\">Raja Mohan<\/b> \u201ccamel in the caravan\u201d + \u201cbig brother, small brother\u201d fear <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> therefore start functional: <b class=\"pq-sc\">Mitrany<\/b> (habits spill over) <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> <b class=\"pq-sc\">Sidhu<\/b>\u2019s fields (energy, water, climate, terrorism) <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> <b class=\"pq-sc\">Sharma<\/b>: make BBIN work (connectivity, river waters, movement of people) <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> <b class=\"pq-sc\">Raja Mohan<\/b>\u2019s \u201cSAARC minus one\u201d, two-speed charter <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> India\u2019s heavier load: <b class=\"pq-sc\">Muni<\/b> (dead SAARC dents soft power) <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> <b>Gujral<\/b> non-reciprocity + implementation scoreboard <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> SAFTA negative lists, trade below 5% <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> trade facilitation before tariff cuts<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"pq-fb\">\n<div class=\"pq-pill p3\"><span>Counter-view<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"pq-ft\">\n<p>intergovernmentalism: developing states guard sovereignty most closely, so functional gains may never reach politics; and working outside SAARC has a limit \u2014 BIMSTEC\/BBIN cannot supplant it<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"pq-fb\">\n<div class=\"pq-pill p4\"><span>Conclusion routes<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"pq-ft\">\n<p class=\"pq-r\"><i class=\"pq-rt\">Route 1<\/i> no member has left; the 2020 leaders\u2019 video conference shows the platform works when the will exists \/<\/p>\n<p class=\"pq-r\"><i class=\"pq-rt\">Route 2<\/i> the sequence itself is the answer: function <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> sub-region <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> flexible charter <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> summit last<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"template":"","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"pyq_year":[46],"pyq_marks":[35],"pyq_topic":[79],"pyq_paper":[69],"class_list":["post-1485","psir_pyq","type-psir_pyq","status-publish","hentry","pyq_year-46","pyq_marks-15-marks","pyq_topic-regionalisation-of-world-politics","pyq_paper-paper-2"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/psir_pyq\/1485","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/psir_pyq"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/psir_pyq"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/psir_pyq\/1485\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4897,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/psir_pyq\/1485\/revisions\/4897"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1485"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"pyq_year","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pyq_year?post=1485"},{"taxonomy":"pyq_marks","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pyq_marks?post=1485"},{"taxonomy":"pyq_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pyq_topic?post=1485"},{"taxonomy":"pyq_paper","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pyq_paper?post=1485"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}