The First Plenary Conference on Democratization, Peace & Regional Cooperation in South Asia was held on 20th and 21st September 2004 at The International Centre, Goa. The Conference was part of the three-year South Asia project located at The International Centre, Goa funded by the Ford Foundation with additional funding from the Ratan Tata Trust. It brought together around forty delegates from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka. The discussions were structured around the three focal themes with presentations by the resource person followed by discussions among the delegates. The basic objective is to involve the younger generation of South Asians in promoting peace and regional cooperation in South Asia.

Inaugural Session
In his welcome remarks, Mr. Pratapsingh Rane, President, Board of Trustees of The International Centre, Goa appreciated the significance of the present exercise in creating a breakthrough in peace, economic development and regional cooperation in the South Asian region. Highlighting the criticality of the region, he hoped that through this exercise one can create a roadmap for South Asia where fundamental freedoms are protected and peaceful conditions created.

Dr. V.A. Pai Panandiker in his keynote address pointed out that South Asia, has been for long perceived as a region of instability and deep mutual mistrust . As a result, South Asia has lagged behind, suffering from poverty, deprivation and violence as the rest of the world has moved ahead. There is therefore a need to take a critical look at the future of South Asia which is already home to 1.4 billion people, likely to become 2.6 billion by 2050. There are lessons of history that may be studied by the younger generation which has to look afresh at the challenges that the region faces. South Asia can have its own 'end of history' which sets examples where people with high diversity live in peace and harmony. It is the younger generation which can show the way and that is where the present project undertakes a very vital exercise.

Dr. Rahul Tripathi, giving the overview of the project pointed out that the three themes selected were vital to the long term peace and security in South Asia and had to be seen in an interlinked manner. In that context the present exercise was very vital as this was perhaps for the first time such an event was taking place outside the leading dialogue centres.

Mr. Jayant Chhaya, Director, The International Centre, Goa, in his vote of thanks hoped that the rich experiences of the past will help in guiding the future course of the project. The younger generation to which the responsibility has been passed on will make sure that the South Asia Together becomes a reality. He expressed his gratitude to all who were involved in the present endeavour.

Session I: Democratisation
Chairperson: Dr. V.A. Pai Panandiker
Paper by: Prof. Kanti Bajpai - "Democratisation in South Asia"

Prof. Bajpai's paper outlined a framework within which one could do an audit of the interlocking balances that sustain democracy and indicated the threats that confront democratization and democracy. Given the fact the 'modern democracy' is a recent thing, South Asians must not consider themselves far behind in the democratization project. There is a link between democratization and regional stability as it affects both internal and external peace. What happens within a society impacts on people across boundaries and in South Asia this trend has been quite manifest. Democracy is to be seen as a political order in which people elect their leaders, hold them accountable for their actions and in which individuals and groups enjoy basic civic and cultural freedoms. For this a robust democracy should have regular and fair mass elections, flow of information and ideas to the public via opposition political parties, press and civil society organizations that inform wide debate and decision making and finally constitutionally guaranteed basic civic and cultural rights. But this requires a political and social structure which ensures a balance between sectors and groups.

The discussions following the presentation encompassed a wide range of issues covering the basic conceptions of democracy, stakeholders in the democratization process, applicability of western models and national security perceptions and democracy. The participants agreed that democracy should be judged in incremental terms as a gap existed between the normative conception of democracy and what actually exists. There has been a gap between the reality and promise of democracy in South Asia. The institutions of governance have often looked upon themselves as rulers and not as agencies to serve the people. Human security and the security of the people were not getting adequate attention in the discourse on democratization in South Asia. Often national security decision making process remains highly centralized and authoritarian as the ruling elites had a tendency to exaggerate the security threat.

It was felt that the debate on applicability of western models was futile and it was more important to see whether the democratic institutions that have been developed are functioning or not. One has to look for the reasons within if the institutions are not performing. There was a need to see how best diverse identities could be accommodated within democratic politics and South Asia's experiences could serve as a model for the rest of the world. Democracy and federalism were also significant issues that had to be dealt with sensitivity. Another key question would be how to manage political violence as it has the potential to undermine democracy. For effective democratic functioning there should be a National Agenda emerging out of basic consensus among political parties beyond which diverse politics should not operate. It was generally agreed that a reconciliation of democratic order and recognition of pluralistic realities form the key premises on which democracy may be sustained in South Asia.

Session II: Peace and Security
Chairperson: Ambassador Eric Gonsalves
Paper by: Prof. C Raja Mohan - "Peace and Security in South Asia: Problems and Prospects"

The author pointed out that the last decade and half had witnessed a certain globalisation of the economic and security dynamics which had created a set of new possibilities for the region. The logic of globalisation is likely to forge a different pace of regional integration in South Asia which could imply undoing the economic consequences of partition. In the security realm, the global attention is more focused on South Asia than ever because of rising extremism and potential for nuclear conflict. These changes may bring about change in perceptions and attitudes among the South Asian countries with regard to the way international intervention is seen in the region. India would be moving away from its traditional position of opposing external influence in regional disputes.

The logic of globalisation will reinforce the primacy of the India's market, thus integrating with it should be an essential component of the growth strategy of the neighboring countries. It will be in India's interest to give unilateral concessions to its neighbours and should force the pace of regional integration by giving thrust to positive unilateralism. In the security sphere, India might still be called upon to take up the responsibility in case of state failure in the neighbourhood. But to deal with such regional conflict situations, some kind of security multilateralism with India laying a leading role will have to be there. Thus a mix of positive economic unilateralism combined with security multilaterism should be the key parameters of India's policy which would cater to the collective interests of the South Asian states.

The discussions following the presentation extensively covered the issues and scenarios presented in the paper. It was felt that internal dimensions of security were equally important in South Asian context. Role of international community in finding solutions to subcontinent's disputes was seen as restricted as the major powers appeared to have a limited influence. Desirability of Indian intervention in case of state failure in the neighbourhood was seen as limited and could further create antagonism within smaller countries. Perceptions also differed with regard to India extending unilateral concessions to its smaller neighbours. As per one view such steps could further marginalize smaller states as the bigger states may try to monopolise them. Any intervention, even if on a request may provide a cover for hegemonism, it was noted. Dialogue within the region had to be structured around equality, tolerance, fundamental freedoms and understanding.

South Asian countries often had different security paradigms and the fact that national security often becomes part of electoral dynamics further complicates the issue. Security policy is often moulded by the interests of the ruling elite, thereby making a emergence of a collective security system rather difficult. Besides, globalization was having unequal impact across the South Asian security region and this could be a source of threat to South Asian security as well. Securing peace was not going to be enough, it had to come with justice to people as well.

The author responded to the comments by reflecting on the broad structural changes that have emerged in the region and else where and how these changes had necessitated a new look at the economic and security problematique. In any instance of a state failure in any country in the region, the question of use of force will come up inevitably. In such kind of a situation, security multilateralism (rather than Indian unilateralism) might be the answer. India in the past has faced the situation of being forced to take a position amidst countervailing political developments in the neighbouring countries. It signed treaties with some smaller countries which looked like alliance treaties, but they also played a role in providing security. Human security is certainly a very vital issue, but one would still need significant changes in state policy through sustained action and dialogues could, rather being abstract, provide specific suggestion in terms of what could be done.

Session III: Regional cooperation
Chairperson: Prof. Muchkund Dubey
Paper by: Prof: Mahendra P Lama - "Regional Cooperation and Integration in South Asia: Problems and Prospects"

The author noted that regional cooperation had brought about significant transformations in some of the region's strategic, political and economic options. There had been instances where bilateral conflictual issues had been effectively dealt with by a favourable situation created by regionalism and multilateralism. In this context understanding of the neighbourhood and the regional reform was critical to interacting with the rest of the world. It had been noted that no country could individually harness the resources in commercially viable way. In South Asia, economic reforms had enhanced the scope of regional cooperation. The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) initiated in 1985 has taken gradual steps at strengthening regionalism and is now at a stage where it requires deepening of the process. There has been a growing assertion on part of the non-state actors to further strengthen regionalism. Significantly the Group of Eminent Persons (GEP) established by Ninth SAARC Summit outlined the roadmap for regional integration by creating a South Asian Free Trade Area by 2010, a SAARC Customs Union by 2015 and SAARC Economic Union by 2020. SAARC has initiated steps towards operationalisation of SAFTA by 2006.

The paper discussed four critical issues in the context of regional cooperation in the realm of trade, technology, investment and energy. Intra-regional trade as a percentage of the region's global trade had continued to be low in the recent years. Besides, India had negligible intra-regional imports, leading to huge deficit in intra-regional balance of trade. There was thus a need for greater integration between trade and investment activity within the region particularly with regard to smaller countries. Moreover, unilateral trade liberalization by India vis a vis its smaller neighbours could also be a viable policy option. There were areas where SAARC members could work together at international fora like WTO where they could enhance their collective bargaining strength. One such area was the issue of movement of natural persons. In the field of software and information technology, South Asian countries could come together to a common platform to reverse the flow of technology from the South to North. For this there would be a prime need to bridge the existing digital divide in the region. Besides, SAARC could develop Regional Technology Missions aimed at consolidating production and productivity in critical sectors of IT and agriculture.

The presentation was followed by discussions and critical inputs from the participants. It was pointed out that at the regional level arrangements haven't worked well, thus bilateral models may be used to support regional efforts. India is in a position to take unilateral steps and that may generate long-term goodwill. Trade deficits within the region could be the major stumbling block towards the goal of Economic Union. Though the logic of globalization had started impinging on the SAARC process, overcoming political obstacles still remained challenge. Thus there was a need to reach out to potential stakeholders to speed up the process. Multiple regionalisms may be more beneficial as there is greater pressure to open up, it also allows SAARC to move at different speeds. If a country is not willing, one can use sub-regionalism or trans-regionalism as a viable option. There is a need to see the potential consequences of China becoming the second largest economy in the South Asian region and a strategy of engagement with it will have to be devised.

In his response, the author pointed out that often multilateralism is used as a pretext to deflect attention from a serious involvement at the regional level. Thus a distinct commitment to regionalism was needed. The more politically homogeneous a region is the stronger is the conviction for regional cooperation. On the issue of political impediments to regional cooperation, one needed to have a belief in the paradigm that economic cooperation often provided the logic for settlement of political differences. There are other models of successful regional integration initiatives existing and the best options for South Asia have been shown to the policy makers. Example of the SAFTA has shown that despite the initial resistance, sound economic logic may finally prevail upon the policy making establishment.

In his concluding remarks the chairperson pointed to the need to understand the logical compulsion for South Asia to move ahead. For this the sheer force of the logic and technical viability of regional cooperation had to be understood and the message could be carried back to respective countries to meet the challenges of globalization. When one is marginalized from mega groupings, regionalism offers a viable alternative to negotiate effectively as a group than as individuals against mega groupings. The deeper aspects of regional integration in South Asia were mentioned in the GEP report. Another area where cooperation can be deepened is monetary and financial cooperation and coordination of macro-economic policies. SAARC provides a viable institutionalized mechanism to carry further the process of enhancing economic cooperation in the region.

Concluding Session

The concluding session consisted of presentation of reports by the Rapporteurs followed by discussions among the participants. It was felt that the present dialogue had enabled a very fruitful and frank exchange of ideas among the delegates. South Asia needs to take a realistic view of the present to arrive at a vision for the future. Such a vision should have people as the focus as they are the real stakeholders in democratization, peace and regional cooperation. The issues and the ideas that came up during the conference need to be further disseminated. The themes emerging from the conference would be subsequently taken up in the working group session in the next phase of the project.

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