One drawback of these organisations is that the will of the most economically and militarily developed member of the group often gets enforced as the common voice of the group.
Author
Sriparna Pathak, Associate Professor, Jindal School of International Affairs, O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat, Haryana, India.
Summary
The post-World War II era, characterised by a “cold” war between the two superpowers of the time-the United States (US) and the erstwhile Soviet Union saw some of the most devastating effects a bipolar world order can have. While the absence of a “hot” war or direct military confrontation between the two superpowers was an excellent facet of international politics, proxy wars in theatres as far as Southeast Asia or in Central and Southeast Asia had devastating effects and multiple countries across the globe suffered. The end of the Cold War with the collapse of the Soviet Union not just saw the rise of multiple poles of power, the examples of which range from India to Brazil to China to Japan but also the emergence of many regional groups, vying to address some of the most pertinent issues facing the world order.
Examples of regional groups include the Group of 7 (G7), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Association of South-East Asia Nations (Asean), the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc), the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (Bimstec), among a long list of others. Irrespective of the composition of these groupings, these organisations have been vital in championing interests of members in various jurisdictions they are found. However, one drawback of these organisations is that the will of the most economically and militarily developed member of the group often gets enforced as the common voice of the group. With this emerged the question of the efficacy of regional groups. Also, in several groups, political differences between member-States often leads to a paralysis of the organisation.
Published in: Hindustan Times
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