Synergy has been
closely related with mergers and acquisitions in the realm of business and
commerce, yet the concept when related to International Relations (IR) and the
engagement of states has the potential to replicate similar results. The
process whereby two or more entities work together to create a result that none
would have achieved on their own, has been experienced in Europe through the
model of the European Union (EU). From an IR perspective, integration has seen
the EU become one of the most advanced cooperative models the world has known. As
a region, it has traversed decades and merged vital areas of trade, agriculture,
immigration, currency and even foreign policy. The Coal and Steel Pact of 1951
saw Belgium, France, West Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Luxembourg merging
their vital resources, and not transfer them to a negative list, which other
less-successful regions have done.
The Treaty of Paris was
aimed at achieving a political Europe through shared leadership, a common
market and reaching the goal of a European Federation. The signatories thereof
understood the herculean task ahead and realized they wouldn’t see the fruit of
their action, yet they knew the beneficial nature of integration would auger
well for the peace, security and unity of a region they called home.
Collective
development
With the ending of the Second
World War and the devastation in which Europe found itself the main focus was
on avoiding further conflict, preserving peace and aiding development in
countries that were caught up in the numerous battles that had ravaged lives,
livelihoods and economies. The ensuing phase of development aided by America
through the Marshall Plan and pursuant to the Truman Doctrine saw countries working
with Germany, a country whose leadership had brought much destruction, albeit
in its divided form.
The collective
development the region experienced through gradual forms of integration
resulted in the creation of a Common Market, adoption of common currency and reaping
of shared benefits. Regarded as one of the strongest economic areas, the region
has a population of 500 million, which is 7% of global population but accounts
for 23% of nominal GDP in the world. A reduction of costs and prices has been realized
through free trade and the removal of non-tariff barriers, with household
income also increasing.
The collective decision
to remove customs barriers has resulted in less paper-work, greater confidence and
enabled countries like Ireland, Portugal and Spain to make significant economic
progress owing to their membership in the regional bloc, which also boasts of countries
which are occupy the highest rungs of the Human Development Index.
Reducing
tension
While regionalism helped
reduce suspicion, tension and brought Germany closer to countries in Europe,
the process of interdependence enabled South East Asia to forge a cooperative system.
Once countries realize the economic benefit of working together, tensions
reduce drastically as they opt to engage rather that antagonize neighbours. The
economic facilitation of dependence, though frowned upon for it’s over reliance,
can, in an appropriate proportion, produce positive returns.
As colonialism plagued South
East Asia, countries responded individually as they grappled with the impact of
the Cold War, the Vietnam war, border disputes, rivalries over islands, differing
political systems and general widespread diversity. It has however been able to
convert many challenges in to opportunities through its collaborative framework
which was born through the Bangkok Declaration in 1967. The key focus on
respecting state sovereignty, nonintervention in internal affairs and
renouncing the use, or threat of use of force in resolving disputes that may arise,
has collectively made a massive impact on an otherwise conflict prone region. Possessing
an exhilarating diversity of community, language, traditions and geographical conditions,
what could result in turmoil is being used instead to foster unity and
cooperation.
Respect, more than
tolerance, remains critical. Whilst tolerance is touted as an essential prerequisite
for effective integration and general cooperation, it is the effort of going
further and not merely tolerating, which itself has a negative connotation, but
instead learning to respect difference and diversity that remains at the heart of
reducing tension.
Strengthening
security
Reduction in tension
and the ability to co-exist augurs well for internal regional security but also
has an added aspect of strengthening the security and stability of the region
as a whole. Having overcome political differences, states look to consolidating
their security, be it in the spheres of defence, economic, human, food and the
list could be endless. It is argued that defence of the EU is more guaranteed
by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) than by the EU itself, yet the
unified stance of countries even in a body such as NATO has seen them receiving
a vital blanket of security, which they would otherwise have had to manage individually.
It is integration that matters, and irrespective of the source of such
integration, the resulting benefits accrued by member states, has seen a heavy
reliance rather than indifference towards integration.
With terrorism, organized
crime and cyber crime remaining at the top of the list of priorities in Europe,
countries have done well to intensify the process of standardization, thereby
raising the bar across the region, which in turn has boosted national
mechanisms. The borderless region that has been created requires this intensified
security mesh if it is to remain secure. Through Europe 2020 Strategy, the
region is, through integration, introducing a collective security plan to
protect ‘citizens, society and economy as well as infrastructure and services, prosperity,
political stability and wellbeing.’
Although the EU is hailed
as the best model of integration, Brexit brought to the fore the question of
whether the region integrated too much. Could they have continued in the form
in which they existed or was it necessary to continue the process of seeing a
truly borderless region in the realization of a European Federation? While a
few, like the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) felt they had, they led
the charge of taking Britain out of the Union and have been successful in
getting the required public support. Yet others, who benefited from
integration, like the German Chancellor Angela Merkel truly believe in the
European model and have found like-minded adherents in French President Macron
and other European leaders.
At the signing of the
Bangkok Declaration, Singapore’s Foreign Minister S. Rajaratnam cautioned that countries
had to think at two levels, national and regional, at when embarking on integration.
He noted that ‘if we are really serious about it, regional existence means
painful adjustments to those practices and thinking in our respective countries.
…If we are not going to do that, then regionalism remains a utopia.’ The visionary
thinking fifty years ago saw South East Asia merge, just as Europe did owing to
decisions taken nearly seven decades ago. The synergy of their actions from then
to the present are benefiting generations now and will continue to do so in the
future. Whilst the ‘pain’ Rajaratnam warned about remains a part of every collective
decision a region has to take, it also means another step has been taken
towards prosperity through collective development, peace through a reduction in
tension and security through a cohesive policy.
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- AWARELOGUE EDITORIAL
