5 research outputs found
The United Nations' Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East (ECAFE) and India : a study in the politics of economic co-operation and initiative in Asia
The growth of regionalism has been one of the most conspicuous
political facts of recent times* The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation,
the Warsaw Pact, the Central Treaty Organisation, the Southeast Asia
Treaty Organisation, the Organisation of the American States, and the
Organisation of African Unity are well-known instances of the regional
approach to political and security problems. In the economic field
also the inauguration of the European Economic Community has made a
deep impact throughout the world and its influence is felt in the
other continents as well. Partly as a result of a defensive reaction
to the European Common Market, and partly because of the example of
regional economic co-operation which it gives, the countries of Latin
America have launched two schemes of regional economic integration
and the United Nations' economic commissions for Africa and Asia are
discussing ways and means to bring about regional economic arrangements
in their respective areas.
Since intergovernmental co-operation in any field involves
confrontation of national interests and political organisation, movements
for economic regionalism attract the attention of the students of
political studies. For this reason the politics of economic co-operation
in Asia offers an interesting field of study. Soon fater the second world war India emerged as the most
significant Asian actor on the world stage, with a keen desire to
give a lead to Asia and to bring other Asian countries closer together
politically as well as economically. Of the international organisations
in Asia, the United Nations Economic Commission for Asia and the Far
East (ECAFE) has the largest membership and is mainly concerned with
promotion of economic co-operation both among its members as v/ell as
with other countries of the world. Many Indian nationals occupy key
positions in the ECAFE Secretariat. All these factors make a study of
the interaction of ECAFE and India in the realm of intra-Asian economic
co-operation, particularly within the wider context of politics of
economic co-operation in Asia, worth pursuing. Beginning with an account
of India’s desire to play a leading role in Asia, the study traces
India’s contribution in the origin, politics of membership, and
organisational growth of ECAFE and discusses her role in the Commission
on matters of regional economic co-operation. It is intended to find
out to what extent both India and ECAFE have used each other and with
what results in their political strategy and tactics in the field of
intra-Asian economic co-operation. As the study is concerned with
politics of economic co-operation under the auspices of ECAFE and India's
role therein, the former has been given more space than the latter