Recent trends in regional integration and the Indian experience

In: International area studies review: IASR, Band 15, Heft 4, S. 377-392

Abstract

The post-Cold War period witnessed a spurt in regional integration and regional trading arrangements. India's attempt at regional integration with Afro-Asian countries during the early years of independence had been without much success. The economic reforms in 1991 and the resultant liberalization and opening of the economy, and the reshaping of its foreign policy have thrown open the floodgate of its Asianism. This article discusses the trend towards regional integration with the end of Cold War and argues that the Look East policy is the byproduct of India's attempt at regional economic integration with East and Southeast Asian countries. The policy is also used by India as one of the means for solving multiple predicaments in its Northeastern region.