Eurasia Border Review;Volume 3, No. 2

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Energy Security : The Functional Area of Regional Cooperation for South Asia

Tripathi, Dhananjay

Permalink : http://hdl.handle.net/2115/50918

Abstract

Despite sharing a common culture and heritage, South Asia is one of the least integrated regions of the world. There are numerous persistent problems creating continuous hurdles for regional integration in South Asia. In this paper an effort is made to present the case for the regional integration of South Asia from the perspective of functional theory. Interestingly, some countries in South Asia are energy deficit and some have vast unexplored potential to meet these shortfalls. The pertinent issue is how to link demand and supply of energy in South Asia so that it subsequently becomes a functional area for cooperation. This paper considers prevalent models of cooperation in energy security of other regions and argues how it can be relevant to the context of South Asia. The role of various actors essential for promoting cooperation in energy security in South Asia is discussed in this paper. Also, in order to substantiate the application of functional theory, the example of the European Union's policy is briefly outlined.

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