South Asia’s Geo-Strategic Significance and Its Role on Changing World Order
Abstract
The region of South Asia is at the center of the transformation of the world order, given its geographies linking the Indian Ocean, the Persian Gulf, Central Asia, East Asia and the larger Indo Pacific region. The area is home to nuclear powered rivals, growing maritime links, significant energy corridors, large consumer markets and states that come in ever increasing contact with the strategic rivalry between China, the United States and others outside the region. This study explores South Asia's geo-strategic importance and the way it has participated in the shift from a predominantly US-centric ordering to a more competitive, multipolar and geo-economic international system. It is studied based on a realist approach focusing on the key explanatory variables power, security, state survival, balancing and strategic geography. The method used in the study is qualitative with purposive sampling technique for participants which are 13 key informants who are academics, former diplomats, security analysts and regional connectivity experts. Thematic analysis was used to analyses data. The four main themes that arose were: South Asia as a strategic pivot of multipolar rivalry, Pakistan as a geo-economic bridge of connectivity and CPEC, Pakistan's stabilizing role in regional security and strategic restraint, and Pakistan's role in promoting multilateralism, Muslim world diplomacy and regional cooperation. The results indicate that the participants saw Pakistan as not just a security player, but also a constructive state, whose geostrategic outlook, diplomacy, connectivity initiatives and balancing act have the potential to contribute positively to the stability of the region. The study finds that South Asia would be even more important in the increasingly competitive world of politics and that Pakistan's positive contribution will rely on economic consolidation, institutional stability and on regional diplomacy and geo-strategic location being transformed to geo-economic influence.
Keywords: South Asia, Geo-Strategy, Changing World Order, Realism, Pakistan, CPEC, Multi-Polarity and Regional Security.
