Bilateral Cooperation Destabilised through Multilateral Agreements in South Asia: SAFTA, Evolution and Challenges

Abstract

In the era of the globalising world, there are now an increasing number of multilateral agreements in the political, economic as well as in the socio-cultural arena. The South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) is one such attempt at ensuring the development of the South Asian sub-region. This agreement was a corrective measure after the failure of the erstwhile South Asian Preferential Trade Agreement (SAPTA). Has this agreement ensured the development of this region as a whole? Are bilateral ties predominant over such multilateral attempts? What are the challenges faced by SAFTA in its smooth functioning? The paper seeks to answer such questions by using a historical perspective and a explorative method. Apart from examining the agreement from various theoretical perspectives, this paper also delineates some of the benefits of SAFTA along with the challenges faced by it. Comparing various scholarly critics, the paper also compiles some of the drawbacks of the agreement which is quite useful from the policy perspective. In the international political realm, where globalisation can no longer be termed as a ‘new’ development, this paper reveals some of the complexities in dealing with such trends.