CSS Pakistan Affairs | The Effectiveness of the SAARC like the EU
The following question of CSS Pakistan Affairs is solved by Kaynat Fatima under the supervision of Howfiv’s Pakistan Affairs Coaches. She learnt how to attempt 20 marks question and essay writing from Sir Syed Kazim Ali, Pakistan’s best CSS and PMS English essay and precis teacher with the highest success rate of his students. This solved past paper question is attempted on the pattern taught by Sir to his students, scoring the highest marks in compulsory and optional subjects for years, and uploaded to help aspirants understand how to crack a topic or question, how to write relevantly, what coherence is, and how to include and connect ideas, opinions, and suggestions to score the maximum.
Outline
1-Introduction
2-Origin and objectives of SAARC
3-Challenges: Reasons for failure of SAARC
4-How can SAARC be an effective organization at the regional level, considering the success of the European Union?
- ✓ To establish and strengthen relationships through reconciliation and unity between member nations
- Evidence: Western European countries have sought to establish and strengthen relationships with each other. The EU has accomplished reconciliation and unity between member nations through various trade deals and intergovernmental organizations.
- ✓ To allow the free flow of services, capital, and people across South Asia by removing barriers
- Evidence: According to the United Nations Development Program, the EU’s total GDP in 2021 was € 14.5 trillion, and in 2022, it was US$16.6 trillion, which is one-sixth of the global GDP.
- ✓ To create a forum discussion, it unifies the continent politically and economically by guaranteeing citizens’ rights.
- Evidence: EU citizens’ rights are guaranteed in their Charter of Fundamental Rights and the Treaty on the European Union
- ✓ To take a staunch stance against injustice and inequality within their borders and beyond.
- Evidence: TheEuropean Institute for Gender Equality, European Social Charter, Europol for police cooperation, and CEPOL for police force training are the institutions that work for justice and equality.
- ✓ To provide a single market like the EU
- Evidence: The Euro,used by over 340 million EU citizens, has eliminated currency fluctuation and exchange cost risks and strengthened the single market to benefit everyone equally.
- Evidence: Across the EU, everyone can use their mobile phone and online services at no extra cost.
- ✓ To promote peace in the region through diplomacy
- Evidence: The EU was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for its achievements in the peace and security field in 2012.
- Evidence: The EU-facilitated dialogue between Serbia and Kosovo, the example
5-Critical Analysis
6-Conclusion
Answer to the Question
1-Introduction
The globalized world is in a crisis in the 21st century, where achieving peace, harmony, development, and prosperity requires cooperation on regional and global levels. South Asia has a dense population, a considerable amount of natural resources, and the fastest-growing region with a huge potential for economic development, and its best example is robust growth in India. However, the area has many challenges due to the lack of social, economic, and political cooperation. That is the reason for the need for the SAARC, which began to upgrade regional participation and combination among its states. Indeed, the SAARC was established to enhance the region’s economic growth, peace, culture, and connectivity. Moreover, like other organizations, SAARC faces many challenges, such as border conflicts, disagreements between member countries, power games, and non-collaboration among members. Besides these challenges, there are many recommendations to make it an effective organization at the region by establishing and strengthening relationships through reconciliation and unity between member states and allowing for the free movement of people, goods, capital, and services across the organization’s borders by removing barriers. Thus, this question is about the origin, success, and recommendations for the success of SAARC in the South-Asian region like the EU.
2-Origin and objectives of SAARC
Moving forward, SAARC was established in Dhaka on 8 December 1985, when South Asian nations, including the Maldives, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, India, and Nepal, agreed to create a trade bloc and provide a platform for the mass of South Asia to work together with the spirit of cooperation, trust, and understanding. SAARC headquarters is in Kathmandu, Nepal. Further, the organization’s aims and motives are economic development, cooperation among SAARC members, regional peace, and regional integration. There are seven founding members of the SAARC, and in 2006, Afghanistan joined in. Golam Sarwar from Bangladesh is the current Secretary-General of SAARC, assuming charge on 4 March 2023. SAARC comprises 3% of the world’s land area, 21% of the world’s population, and 5.21% (US$4.47 trillion) of the global economy as of 2021.
3-Challenges: Reasons for failures of SAARC
Moving down the ladder, regional organizations are established worldwide to promote regional development, peace, security, and harmony, and to fulfill this purpose, they have faced many difficulties too. Similarly, SAARC has experienced many challenges that are hindrances on the way to success. The limitations that hold the organization back from reaching its goal of success make it a very poor level of regional cooperation. However, the regional SAARC organization has remained highly unsuccessful in realizing development and welfare objectives. Despite the historical ties regarding the social, economic, and cultural fields, the eight South Asian countries of the SAARC have not formed an economic grouping, region cooperation, or resolved boundary disputes. Moreover, there are many factors responsible for this delay in collaboration in this region, like power game, mistrust, non-cooperation, and the Kashmir issue, so the pace of progress in realizing cooperation in this region has been slowed due to these factors since the formation of SAARC. In the wake of conflicts in South Asia, regional power politics has been holding SAARC back from achieving its progress. Thus, regional non-cooperation, boundary and water issues, power games, external powers interference, and mistrust are the challenges and reasons for SAARC’s failure.
4-How can SAARC be an effective organization at the regional level, considering the success of the European Union?
- ✓ To establish and strengthen relationships through reconciliation and unity between member nations
Moving towards the recommendations, SAARC must establish and strengthen relationships through reconciliation and unity between member nations like the EU. First, SAARC establishes good relationships within member states through various trade deals, student exchange programs, and organizations to provide job opportunities to its citizens. However, the EU is the best example for SAARC to teach the lesson; Western European countries have sought to establish and strengthen relationships with each other under the EU. In its earliest forms, the EU has accomplished its challenging goal of reconciliation and unity between member nations through various trade deals and intergovernmental organizations. The result is that no two EU member nations have ever been engaged in an armed conflict against one another. So, SAARC can take the idea of unity from the EU and should work on trade deals and intergovernmental organizations, like the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement and Council of European Union, to discuss, amend, and establish South Asia free trade agreement and Council of South Asian Union and to adopt and coordinate the policies within the region to end the regional conflict and establish peace. Thus, SAARC can become an effective organization if it focuses on establishing relationships between member countries.
- ✓ To allow the free flow of services, capital, and people across South Asia by removing barriers
Similarly, SAARC can become an influential organization if it promotes the free flow of capital, services, and people by removing barriers between the member states. SAARC should learn the lesson from the EU that has removed these obstacles and promoted free movement. The EU operates a single market that consists of 27 countries; according to the United Nations development program, the total GDP of the EU in 2021 was € 14.5 trillion, and in 2022 was US$16.6 trillion, which is one-sixth of the global GDP. SAARCshould also remove these barriers and promote free movement of people, capital, and services through free trade agreements between member states like India-Afghanistan-Pakistan trio trade deals and student scholarships and exchange programs across South Asia. Hence, if SAARC can remove border barriers, consider all citizens of member states as citizens of SAARC, and all have equal rights and opportunities, then SAARC can become an effective organization like the EU.
- ✓ To create a forum discussion, it unifies the continent politically and economically by guaranteeing citizens’ rights.
Likewise, SAARC should be an effective organization like the EU by creating a forum for discussion. It can unify the continent politically and economically by guaranteeing citizens’ rights as the EU does. SAARC is a regional organization and has the potential to achieve a unified Asian identity. However, the EU is the best example of the Unified European Identity; all citizens of member nations of the EU are considered EU citizens, uniting people from across the continent under a set of rights, guaranteeing equal treatment no matter which EU state they are in. Furthermore, EU citizens’ rights are guaranteed in their Charter of Fundamental Rights, and the Treaty on the European Union gives its citizens and legal residents a wide range of rights enacted in the EU law across many fields. Similarly, SAARC can protect SAARC citizens’ rights under the Unified South Asian Identity and make a Charter for Fundamental Rights, which can provide the basic rights of SAARC citizens. Thus, SAARC should give rights to all citizens of member states who are considered SAARC citizens and make a charter and treaties that can ensure the citizens’ rights and unify them politically and economically to make SAARC an effective organization.
- ✓ To take a staunch stance against injustice and inequality within their borders and beyond.
Similarly, SAARC can be an effective organization like the EU if it takes a staunch stance against injustice and inequality within its borders and beyond. SAARC can potentially resolve issues within member countries, such as the boundary issue between China and India, Afghanistan and Pakistan, and Pakistan and India, to enhance regional peace and stability. SAARC should raise its voice and take a stance against injustice and inequality within its borders and beyond, like injustice in Afghanistan and Palestine. However, SAARC can promote activism like the EU; the EU provides aid for millions across the globe, and collectively, the union and its member countries are the largest donors of humanitarian aid in the world. Further, the EU has several programs providing food, shelter, water, healthcare, and other forms of stability for more than eighty countries. Moreover, theEuropean Institute for Gender Equality, the European Social Charter, and Europol for police cooperation, CEPOL for training of police forces are the institutions that work for justice and equality. The EU’s Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR) supports improving respect for human rights and fundamental freedom in countries and regions most at risk. Likewise, SAARC countries can become the largest donors of humanitarian aid globally by providing shelter, food, water, healthcare, and education under different programs. Hence, SAARC should work on human rights in the region, take a stance against injustice and inequality, and make policies and frameworks to improve its conditions for an effective organization like the EU.
- ✓ To provide a single market like the EU
Furthermore, SAARC must promote a single market in the region to enhance economic engines like the EU. SAARC countries have much potential for trade, but despite the potential, the trade in the member countries is limited because of power games and clashes between member states. So, SAARC should take an example from the EU to enhance its economic engine. The Euro – used by over 340 million EU citizens, has eliminated the risk of currency fluctuation and exchange costs and strengthened the single market – to benefit everyone. Similarly, under the EU telephone & digital services – everyone can use his phone and online services at no extra cost across the EU. Likewise,SAARC member states can enhance their economic engine through the single market and trade on national currency exchange rather than in Dollars; the result would be that the national currency would be more robust. Thus, SAARC should promote a single market in the region to enhance economic engines through trade policies.
- ✓ To promote peace in the region through diplomacy
Lastly, SAARC should become an influential organization like the EU to promote regional peace through security and diplomacy. The primary aim of every organization globally is to promote global peace, prosperity, and harmony. SAARC can enhance peace and security like the EU; in 2012, the organization was awarded with the Nobel Peace Prize for its achievements in this field. However, due to its effective policies, the EU has maintained 70 years of lasting peace in the European region. Furthermore, one example is the EU-facilitated dialogue between Serbia and Kosovo, which led to a landmark deal in April 2013 that is currently being implemented with EU support. Likewise, SAARC can establishthe EU’s common foreign and security policy to resolve conflicts and problems in the member states and South Asia through diplomacy and international law to promote peace and harmony. Thus, SAARC can promote regional peace through dialogue and diplomacy between the member states.
5-Critical Analysis
Critically, SAARC has the political, economic, and social potential to make an effective regional organization like the EU and ASEAN. The EU won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2012. The EU, ASEAN, and North American Free Trade Agreement are good examples of a high level of regional cooperation and interdependence resulting from regional cooperation. People in these regions have witnessed a rapid increase in their living standards and the protection of their civil liberties. In comparison, South Asia has a unique distinction in having abysmal levels of regional cooperation. The regional organization, SAARC, has failed to realize development and welfare objectives. With political tensions and clashes nearby, the South Asian countries pose a query of insecurity and challenge to the creation of South Asian Union at balance with European Union that would permit free movement of South Asian people; common currency economic policies which finally will sow the seeds of harmony and peace. To attain the primary objectives, the SAARC would have to progress into a complete regional entity that can promote peace and enhance the economy.
6-Conclusion
In conclusion, SAARC has the potential for national integration, regional cooperation, and social, political, and economic development. SAARC began to upgrade regional participation and combination among its states. This organization expects to improve financial participation, regional connectivity, and cultural exchange and promote peace in the region. However, the organization faces many challenges, including historical conflicts, disagreements within member countries, and collaboration among member states. Besides these challenges, there are many recommendations to make SAARC an effective organization like the EU at the regional level by establishing and strengthening relationships through reconciliation and unity between member nations, removing barriers, establishing connectivity between member states through trade and diplomacy, and granting citizens’ rights like the EU.
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