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| Sunday, 11 September 2005 |
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Wider regional integration to solve conflicts by M. P. Muttiah New Delhi's Centre for Policy Research President, Dr. Pratap Bhanu Mehta, speaking at the International Centre for Ethnic Studies on the prospects of regional co-operation in the expanding scenario of globalisation on Sept. 7, said that "a wider regional integration could help solve South Asian conflicts. Almost all states that won independence from colonial rule have their own identities. The states were the political expression of those identities. Identity is the base for the coordination and cooperation among countries", he added. While stressing the role of sovereignty in the globalisation process he said that autonomy, control, legitimacy and identity were the four principle components of sovereignty. He defined the four principal components saying that "autonomy is the independence of state's policy making, control on the efforts of the ability of the state to its rights to produce the desired effects, legitimacy in its rights to formulate rules in a way that are widely accepted and recognised internally and externally." He said identity is the capacity of political sovereignty to embody some kind of distinct identity of the nation. Thus, the sovereignty is the bearer of a particular political expression. Sovereignty is the economic base for globalisation which unbundled major transformation in the world, including the South Asian region. Dr. Mehta said the European integration dates back to 1939, which was considered as the manifesto of economic interdependence of countries.It was considered at that time more economic interdependence of each other, the prospects for social democratic politics would diminish. However,in the present context the integration unbundled the concept of sovereignty much more significantly. He pointed out that countries with an open economy had no regulation standard, especially at the export promotion zones where the labour standard was much lower. However, the general trend of economic interdependence would increase in the future. A number of agreements were being worked out and kinds of political formations were taking place. Therefore, countries such as Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan should have more regulatory standards. India-Sri Lanka Foundation organised the lecture in association with the Centre for Policy Alternatives, International Centre for Ethnic Studies and the Social Scientists' Association Dr. Radhika Coomaraswamy presided. |
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