Opportunities and Challenges for Regional Economic Integration in the Indian Ocean

Wignaraja, Ganeshan; Collins, Adam; Kannangara, P.D.

doi:10.1177/2631684619829958

Cited by 9 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Regional geopolitics have affected individual countries’ security, foreign policy and trade decision-making processes. India’s asymmetric positionality in the region (Cohen, 2001), India–Pakistan rivalry (Paul, 2006), China’s involvement in the region (Lokman et al , 2022) and global power play in the site of South Asia (Wignaraja et al , 2019) have made a significant impact in the region cooperation. These geopolitical factors can be disturbing and constraining the promotion and expansion of regional trade.…”

Section: Discussion: Benchmarking South Asian Free Trade Agreements W...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Is South Asia the missing bloc in world trade? An analysis of South Asian FTAs’ compatibility with WTO rules

de Silva

2024

JITLP

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Purpose South Asia is a region urgently seeking development, although it has failed in regional integration. It is the second least integrated region regarding the number of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) and can thus be recognised as a missing bloc in the global multilateral system. This study aims to focus on South Asian FTAs and explores the problems of the inter-relations and compatibility between the systemic and regional trade systems. Design/methodology/approach The study proposes a framework to benchmark the compatibility of South Asian FTAs with WTO rules. Primary data from 2000 to 2020, including descriptive analyses of reports, legal text of the FTAs, official documents and factual presentations, have been collected and analysed through thematic analysis using the proposed framework. Findings The study finds that, although South Asian FTAs meet most of the WTO requirements, they are not progressing toward facilitating and promoting trade. Data from 2000 to 2020 show us that South Asian FTAs have not significantly impacted trade between themselves. The study argues that, although South Asian FTAs fulfil some benchmarks, they show only a lukewarm interest in contributing to the international trading system as building blocs. It is therefore recommended that the case of South Asian trade liberalisation must be understood contextually and be given careful and exclusive attention by the WTO. Originality/value As such, this study is the first to claim that South Asian FTAs are not fully compatible with the WTO rules. They remain a missing regional bloc in the multilateral system, rather than a building bloc or a stumbling bloc, delaying the region’s opportunity to develop as a region and within the larger system.

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Section: Discussion: Benchmarking South Asian Free Trade Agreements W...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Is South Asia the missing bloc in world trade? An analysis of South Asian FTAs’ compatibility with WTO rules

de Silva

2024

JITLP

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“…Regional integration theories can shed light on the direction that EAC countries can follow. Regional integration entails the admitting neighboring states into an agreement that enables them to cooperate through shared institutions and rules (Dion, 2004;Ejones et al, 2021;Wignaraja et al, 2019). The regional integration theories of interest to this study are neo-functionalism, regionalism, new regionalism and liberal intergovernmentalism.…”

Section: Theories Of Regional Integrationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Political Leadership and Regional Integration: A Case of the East African Community Common Market

Ntara¹

2023

JMTI

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Caroline Ntara holds a Ph. D in International business. She is currently a Fulltime faculty member at KCA University in Kenya and a freelance peer reviewer and journal selection expert at Enago-Crimson Interactive -New York. She possesses excellent skills in international trade and business, economics, public policy, general business. Caroline is a strong research professional with in-depth knowledge in writing both academic and business research, analysis, and review of already conducted research.

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“…In practice, there are several learnings from regional cooperation worldwide, for example, from the Indian Ocean on narrowing development gaps, or the importance of regional governance (Wignaraja et al, 2019), or the challenges of rivalry and the need for diversified economies in South Africa (Chingono & Nakana, 2009). Pakistan, as one of the BRI countries, is inhibited by political instability and a lack of security (Ali, 2016), which shows the complexity of the integration processes.…”

Section: Gravitational Bilateralmentioning

confidence: 99%

Building Scenarios on the Regional Integration in Eurasia along the New Silk Road

Thees

Erschbamer

2022

Journal of Economic Integration

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Regions are gaining importance as globalization struggles with local sustainable implementation. Thus, regional integration assumes economic development based on transnational cooperation, including regionalization and regionalism. The New Silk Road (NSR) offers a set of policies (including the Belt and Road Initiative) for regional integration that faces challenges in geopolitics and geoeconomics with problems at the local and regional scale, especially along its core corridor, namely, the Eurasian Land Bridge. Therefore, we focus on the NSR implementation by examining the scenarios for future regional integration along the NSR in Eurasia. Using a stepwise scenario building method, including a literature review and qualitative interviews, four scenarios are outlined to explore regional cooperation and the impacts: from (1) withdrawal/reduction of the NSR towards (2) solo efforts by Chinese shareholders, (3) corridorintegration and finally, (4) deep regional integration. This study examines the interface between economic geography and international relations.

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Opportunities and Challenges for Regional Economic Integration in the Indian Ocean

Cited by 9 publications

References 16 publications

Is South Asia the missing bloc in world trade? An analysis of South Asian FTAs’ compatibility with WTO rules

Is South Asia the missing bloc in world trade? An analysis of South Asian FTAs’ compatibility with WTO rules

Political Leadership and Regional Integration: A Case of the East African Community Common Market

Building Scenarios on the Regional Integration in Eurasia along the New Silk Road

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