Conflict management strategies in ASEAN: perspectives for SAARC

ASEAN has generally been hailed as one of the most successful experiments in regional cooperation in the developing world, particularly in its ability to manage conflicts and maintain peace and security in Southeast Asia. SAARC, its counterpart in South Asia, on the other hand, is perceived as a moribund organization that has made little progress in furthering peace and cooperation in the region. Regionalism is indeed peculiar to its own region making for a different set of challenges, which each regional grouping has to address by evolving suitable models of conflict management and regional cooperation. ASEAN and its unique style of functioning are also distinct in that sense. While the experiences of one organization cannot be wholly applied or transplanted on to another, it is useful to understand the logic and dynamics in each region to draw the relevant lessons. Some aspects of cooperation in one region may be worthy of emulation in another if adapted in the right socio-economic and political context. This paper explores areas where SAARC, despite obvious divergences with ASEAN in its geopolitical and economic make-up, could benefit from the ASEAN experience in seeking to create a political climate conducive to improving regional cooperation in political and economic matters. The ASEAN model of conflict management may be of greater significance to South Asia in light of greater imminent regional tensions arising from the current war on South Asia's border in Afghanistan.