Parasram, A: The Bridge or the Battering Ram?

Regionalism and globalization are often seen as competing processes of multi-state organization. This project brings together these two processes to explore the development of regions in South and Southeast Asian politics in order to analyze eclectically the significance of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral and Technical Cooperation (BIMSTEC). This work identifies core theoretical reasons why the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) exemplifies successful Asian regionalism and also why the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) does not. Far from being a benign sub-regional bridge, the development of the BIMSTEC is stained in Sino-Indian competition for influence and power in a post-cold war Asia. Indeed, in final analysis, the BIMSTEC proves to be a bridge for powerful nations and a battering ram for smaller nations, unable to exert influence amidst regional politics. The Bridge or the Battering Ram offers a timely reflection on the currents of regionalism focussing on one of Asia‘‘s less emphasized places that will nonetheless continue to grow in influence in the years to come.