Strengthening the Development Partnership between the EU and South Asia: A Contemporary Analysis
Keywords:
European Union, South Asia, SAARC, Development Policy, Sustainable DevelopmentAbstract
The relations between European Union (EU) and South Asia are not new. However, South Asia is one of the fastest growing economies of the world; the EU’s development policy has given less attention to this region. This paper aims to elucidate and evaluate the EU engagement towards South Asia through development policy and generate an argument on reasons for the EU to strengthen its strategy in the region. Pursuing its comprehensive attention towards the region, the EU intends to address different development- related challenges under its ‘Agenda for Change’ initiation. The main question addressed in this research is ‘Why South Asia is important for the EU?’ The discussion below attempts to incorporate empirical analysis regarding challenges and prospects for the EU in the region. In terms of theoretical approach, this paper follows a neoliberal perspective to analyse the EU development policy. The main findings of the research is that however the EU has strengthened its development partnership with South Asia, the EU is still not considered as a main actor in the region.
References
BHARGAVA, K. K., REED, M. A. (2009). The European Union, South Asia and Democracy in Development: Dialogue and Partnership. Stockholm: International IDEA, 2009. [online]. Available at: https://www.idea.int/sites/default/files/publications/chapters/the-role-of-the-european-union-in-democracy-building/eu-democracy-building-discussion-paper-64.pdf. [Accessed December 30, 2020].
BHARTI, S. S. (2017). Violence against Women in India: An Intersectional Approach to Human Rights. [online]. Available at: http://gcids2017.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Simant-Shankar-Bharti-Full-Paper.pdf. [Accessed December 30, 2020].
BHARTI, S. S. (2020). Development Economics and Re-construction of Developing Countries: Reflections and Insights. In: Journal of Scientific Papers “Social development and Security”, Vol. No. 4, 2020, pp. 69-77. DOI: 10.33445/sds.2020.10.4.6.
BIROCCHI, F. (1999). The European Union's Development Policies towards Asian and Latin American Countries. DSA European Development Policy Study. Group Discussion Paper No. 10. [online]. Available at: https://eulacfoundation.org/en/system/files/THE%20EU'S%20DEVELOPMENT%20POLICIES%20TOWARDS%20ASIAN%20AND%20LA%20COUNTRIES.pdf. [Accessed May 7, 2018].
BODENSTEIN, T., FAUST, J., FURNESS, M. (2017). European Union Development Policy: Collective Action in Times of Global Transformation and Domestic Crisis. In: Development Policy Review, Vol. 35, No. 4, 2017, pp. 441-453. DOI:10.1111/dpr.12189.
CAMERON, F. (2017). “It’s Asia, Stupid”: Time for the EU to Deepen Relations with Asia., Hamburg: GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies - Leibniz-Institut für Globale und Regionale Studien,Institut für Asien-Studie, 2017EU-Asia Centre. [online]. Available at: https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/ba8b/a79fa64e17bb2fa2d67a7e89434bebd8a104.pdf. [Accessed April 25, 2018].
DOIDGE, M. (2017). The Changing Place of Development in EU–Asia Relations. In: The European Journal of Development Research, Vol. 29, No. 4, 2017, pp. 926-941. DOI: 10.1057/s41287-016-0070-3.
EASA. (2017). European Union and South Asia Strengthen Ties Civil Aviation. [online]. Available at: https://www.easa.europa.eu/newsroom-and-events/press-releases/european-union-and-south-asia-strengthen-ties-civil-aviation. [Accessed December 30, 2020].
EEAS. (2004) Strategy Paper and Indicative Programme for Multi-country Programmes in Asia, 2005-2006. [online]. Available at: http://www.europafacile.net/Scheda/Download?p=201401061928.Strategia2005_2006.pdf%20&t=D&o=6408&a=8887&r=22928. [Accessed December 30, 2020].
EEAS. (2014). Regional Programming for Asia, Multiannual Indicative Programme 2014-2020. [online]. Available at: https://eeas.europa.eu/sites/eeas/files/regional-asia-mip-2014-2020_en.pdf. [Accessed 24 April 2018].
EUROPEAN COMMISSION (2001a). Europe and Asia: A Strategic Framework for Enhanced Partnerships. [online]. Available at: http://eurlex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:52001DC0469:EN:HTML [Accessed December 30, 2020].
EUROPEAN COMMISSION. (2001b). Communication from the Commission “Europe and Asia: A strategic Framework for Enhanced Partnerships” [online]. Available at: https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/77f3c2a2-bd32-45e9-9440-da0a63d0cbbd.
EUROPEAN COMMISSION. (2014). Report on Evaluation of the European Union’s regional cCo-operation with Asia. [online]. Available at: https://www.oecd.org/derec/ec/Evaluation_of_the_European_Union_regional_co-operation_with_Asia_Vol1.pdf [Accessed December 30, 2020].
EUROPEAN COMMISSION. (2020). The Maldives. [online]. Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/international-partnerships/where-we-work/maldives_en [Accessed December 30, 2020].
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT (2015), European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights,. Available at: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2015/568332/EPRS_BRI(2015)568332_EN.pdf [Accessed December 30, 2020].
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT. (2018) Delegations European ParliamentIntroduction., [online]. Available at: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/delegations/en/dsas/about/introduction. [Accessed 25 April 2018].
FUND FOR PEACE. (2020). Indicators. [online]. Available at: https://fragilestatesindex.org/indicators/ [Accessed July 30, 2020].
HERMANN, CH. (2007). Neoliberalism in the European Union. In: Studies in Political Economy, Vol. 79, No. 1, 2007, pp. 61-90. DOI: 10.1080/19187033.2007.11675092.
JAIN, R. K. (2015). The European Union and South Asia. New Delhi: KW Publishers Pvt Ltd., 2015.
MASSA, I. (2011). How the Eurozone debt crisis could affect developing countries. In: The Guardian. [online]. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/poverty-matters/2011/oct/21/eurozone-crisis-developing-countries [Accessed April 25, 2018].
MAYR, S. (2020). POLICY BRIEF 9 – EU-South Asia trade perspectives: State of play. In: SADF- Policy Brief, No. 9, 2020. [online]. Available at: https://www.sadf.eu/policy-brief-9-eu-south-asia-trade-perspectives-state-of-play/ [Accessed December 30, 2020].
MOHAN, C. R., VATER, J. J. (2019). Introduction. In: South Asia Discussion Papers. Europe in The Indo-Pacific: Moving from Periphery to the Centre? Singapore: Institute of South Asian Studies, 2019.
MYERS, J. (2020). India is now the world’s 5th largest economy. [online]. Available at: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/02/india-gdp-economy-growth-uk-france/ [Accessed December 30, 2020].
ODÉN, B., WOHLGEMUTH, L. (2015). European aid and development policies in a changing world. The European Centre for Development Policy Management, No. 76, 2015. [online]. Available at: http://ecdpm.org/wp-content/uploads/BN76-European-Aid-Development-Policies-Changing-World-ECDPM-June-2015.pdf. [Accessed April 25, 2018].
PASHAKHANLOU, A. H. (2017). Fully integrated content analysis in International Relations. In: International Relations, Vol.31, No. 4, 2017, pp. 447–465. DOI: 10.1177/0047117817723060.
SCHAFER, H. (2019) Bracing for climate change is a matter of survival for the Maldives. [online]. Available at: https://blogs.worldbank.org/endpovertyinsouthasia/bracing-climate-change-matter-survival-maldives. [Accessed December 30, 2020].
SOUTULLO, J. (2019). Fact Sheet on the European Union: South Asia. [online]. Available at: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/factsheets/en/sheet/181/south-asia. [Accessed December 30, 2020].
SOUTULLO, J. et al. (2017). Fact Sheets on the European Union: South Asia. [online]. Available at: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/fiches_techniques/2013/060606/04A_FT(2013)060606_EN.html. [ Accessed December 30, 2020].
STUMBAUM, M. B. U. (2014). How Europe Matters in Asian Security: Addressing non-traditional security threats under climate change conditions; towards a new research agenda on norm diffusion in EU-Asia security relations. Berlin: NFG Research Group „Asian Perceptions of the EU and Freie Universität Berlin, 2014.
THE WORLD BANK (2020), South Asia. [online]. Available at: https://www.worldbank.org/en/region/sar/overview [Accessed December 30, 2020].
TRIPATHI, D. (2011). Development role of the European Union in South Asia. New Delhi: Vij Books India, 2011.
VIVEKANANDAN, B., GIRI, D. K. (2001). Contemporary Europe and South Asia. New Delhi: Concept Publishing, 2001.
BHARTI, S. S. (2017). Violence against Women in India: An Intersectional Approach to Human Rights. [online]. Available at: http://gcids2017.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Simant-Shankar-Bharti-Full-Paper.pdf. [Accessed December 30, 2020].
BHARTI, S. S. (2020). Development Economics and Re-construction of Developing Countries: Reflections and Insights. In: Journal of Scientific Papers “Social development and Security”, Vol. No. 4, 2020, pp. 69-77. DOI: 10.33445/sds.2020.10.4.6.
BIROCCHI, F. (1999). The European Union's Development Policies towards Asian and Latin American Countries. DSA European Development Policy Study. Group Discussion Paper No. 10. [online]. Available at: https://eulacfoundation.org/en/system/files/THE%20EU'S%20DEVELOPMENT%20POLICIES%20TOWARDS%20ASIAN%20AND%20LA%20COUNTRIES.pdf. [Accessed May 7, 2018].
BODENSTEIN, T., FAUST, J., FURNESS, M. (2017). European Union Development Policy: Collective Action in Times of Global Transformation and Domestic Crisis. In: Development Policy Review, Vol. 35, No. 4, 2017, pp. 441-453. DOI:10.1111/dpr.12189.
CAMERON, F. (2017). “It’s Asia, Stupid”: Time for the EU to Deepen Relations with Asia., Hamburg: GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies - Leibniz-Institut für Globale und Regionale Studien,Institut für Asien-Studie, 2017EU-Asia Centre. [online]. Available at: https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/ba8b/a79fa64e17bb2fa2d67a7e89434bebd8a104.pdf. [Accessed April 25, 2018].
DOIDGE, M. (2017). The Changing Place of Development in EU–Asia Relations. In: The European Journal of Development Research, Vol. 29, No. 4, 2017, pp. 926-941. DOI: 10.1057/s41287-016-0070-3.
EASA. (2017). European Union and South Asia Strengthen Ties Civil Aviation. [online]. Available at: https://www.easa.europa.eu/newsroom-and-events/press-releases/european-union-and-south-asia-strengthen-ties-civil-aviation. [Accessed December 30, 2020].
EEAS. (2004) Strategy Paper and Indicative Programme for Multi-country Programmes in Asia, 2005-2006. [online]. Available at: http://www.europafacile.net/Scheda/Download?p=201401061928.Strategia2005_2006.pdf%20&t=D&o=6408&a=8887&r=22928. [Accessed December 30, 2020].
EEAS. (2014). Regional Programming for Asia, Multiannual Indicative Programme 2014-2020. [online]. Available at: https://eeas.europa.eu/sites/eeas/files/regional-asia-mip-2014-2020_en.pdf. [Accessed 24 April 2018].
EUROPEAN COMMISSION (2001a). Europe and Asia: A Strategic Framework for Enhanced Partnerships. [online]. Available at: http://eurlex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:52001DC0469:EN:HTML [Accessed December 30, 2020].
EUROPEAN COMMISSION. (2001b). Communication from the Commission “Europe and Asia: A strategic Framework for Enhanced Partnerships” [online]. Available at: https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/77f3c2a2-bd32-45e9-9440-da0a63d0cbbd.
EUROPEAN COMMISSION. (2014). Report on Evaluation of the European Union’s regional cCo-operation with Asia. [online]. Available at: https://www.oecd.org/derec/ec/Evaluation_of_the_European_Union_regional_co-operation_with_Asia_Vol1.pdf [Accessed December 30, 2020].
EUROPEAN COMMISSION. (2020). The Maldives. [online]. Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/international-partnerships/where-we-work/maldives_en [Accessed December 30, 2020].
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT (2015), European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights,. Available at: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2015/568332/EPRS_BRI(2015)568332_EN.pdf [Accessed December 30, 2020].
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT. (2018) Delegations European ParliamentIntroduction., [online]. Available at: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/delegations/en/dsas/about/introduction. [Accessed 25 April 2018].
FUND FOR PEACE. (2020). Indicators. [online]. Available at: https://fragilestatesindex.org/indicators/ [Accessed July 30, 2020].
HERMANN, CH. (2007). Neoliberalism in the European Union. In: Studies in Political Economy, Vol. 79, No. 1, 2007, pp. 61-90. DOI: 10.1080/19187033.2007.11675092.
JAIN, R. K. (2015). The European Union and South Asia. New Delhi: KW Publishers Pvt Ltd., 2015.
MASSA, I. (2011). How the Eurozone debt crisis could affect developing countries. In: The Guardian. [online]. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/poverty-matters/2011/oct/21/eurozone-crisis-developing-countries [Accessed April 25, 2018].
MAYR, S. (2020). POLICY BRIEF 9 – EU-South Asia trade perspectives: State of play. In: SADF- Policy Brief, No. 9, 2020. [online]. Available at: https://www.sadf.eu/policy-brief-9-eu-south-asia-trade-perspectives-state-of-play/ [Accessed December 30, 2020].
MOHAN, C. R., VATER, J. J. (2019). Introduction. In: South Asia Discussion Papers. Europe in The Indo-Pacific: Moving from Periphery to the Centre? Singapore: Institute of South Asian Studies, 2019.
MYERS, J. (2020). India is now the world’s 5th largest economy. [online]. Available at: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/02/india-gdp-economy-growth-uk-france/ [Accessed December 30, 2020].
ODÉN, B., WOHLGEMUTH, L. (2015). European aid and development policies in a changing world. The European Centre for Development Policy Management, No. 76, 2015. [online]. Available at: http://ecdpm.org/wp-content/uploads/BN76-European-Aid-Development-Policies-Changing-World-ECDPM-June-2015.pdf. [Accessed April 25, 2018].
PASHAKHANLOU, A. H. (2017). Fully integrated content analysis in International Relations. In: International Relations, Vol.31, No. 4, 2017, pp. 447–465. DOI: 10.1177/0047117817723060.
SCHAFER, H. (2019) Bracing for climate change is a matter of survival for the Maldives. [online]. Available at: https://blogs.worldbank.org/endpovertyinsouthasia/bracing-climate-change-matter-survival-maldives. [Accessed December 30, 2020].
SOUTULLO, J. (2019). Fact Sheet on the European Union: South Asia. [online]. Available at: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/factsheets/en/sheet/181/south-asia. [Accessed December 30, 2020].
SOUTULLO, J. et al. (2017). Fact Sheets on the European Union: South Asia. [online]. Available at: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/fiches_techniques/2013/060606/04A_FT(2013)060606_EN.html. [ Accessed December 30, 2020].
STUMBAUM, M. B. U. (2014). How Europe Matters in Asian Security: Addressing non-traditional security threats under climate change conditions; towards a new research agenda on norm diffusion in EU-Asia security relations. Berlin: NFG Research Group „Asian Perceptions of the EU and Freie Universität Berlin, 2014.
THE WORLD BANK (2020), South Asia. [online]. Available at: https://www.worldbank.org/en/region/sar/overview [Accessed December 30, 2020].
TRIPATHI, D. (2011). Development role of the European Union in South Asia. New Delhi: Vij Books India, 2011.
VIVEKANANDAN, B., GIRI, D. K. (2001). Contemporary Europe and South Asia. New Delhi: Concept Publishing, 2001.
Downloads
Published
2020-12-31
How to Cite
Bharti, S. S. (2020) “Strengthening the Development Partnership between the EU and South Asia: A Contemporary Analysis”, Slovak Journal of Political Sciences, 20(2), pp. 278–298. Available at: https://sjps.fsvucm.sk/index.php/sjps/article/view/143 (Accessed: 13 November 2024).
Issue
Section
Articles
License
Please, read licence agreement.
Publication Charge
There is no publication fee or charge for any submitted or accepted articles. There is no article processing charges (APCs) would be billed to authors.
