Özet:

Asia is known for its vastness, beautiful terrain, and population. Diversity in terms of culture, religion, and political systems is the hallmark of its existence. Regional integration, which is an emerging trend in the global age, has been only witnessed in its different regions but no major effort has been made to integrate the whole continent as is the case with Americas, Africa or Europe. There are forums on various pertaining issues such as the ASEAN and SAARC, and SCO emphasizing on the integration of sub-regions of Far East, Central Asia, and South Asia respectively but only with limited or closed memberships. A regional inclusive body like EU is not in the sight. Divergence in racial, cultural and linguistic terms is one thing non-similarity in terms of political systems is yet another reason for their not becoming closer to each other. Some practice socialism while others remain tied to capitalism. Still, there are others which retain authoritarian structures. Diversity, which is the hallmark of the Asian continent, has also been witnessed through the stages of development in various countries and regions. We find states like Japan, South Korea, and China using hi-tech systems of economic development and, hence, shown great potential to lead the rest. On the other side of the divide is the vast array of states which strive to cater to the basic necessities of life to their populace. Yet there are emerging economies like India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka showing vast potential to attract foreign investment to scale up the ladder of development. There is something called Asian Dilemma, whereby states are caught in the cobweb of hostilities due to geographical factors or legacies of the past. However, there are growing signs of integrating the Asian Continent despite all oddities. China has taken the lead to promote connectivity between South Asia and Central Asia to link it up with Europe. Asian Development Bank has undertaken the project of connecting the Far East with Europe through a network of rails and roads. There has been the talk of creating a fiscal union and opting for the single currency. The move towards integration may owe a lot to technological advances like telephony, the internet, and satellite TV and there is no dearth of whistleblowers like China or Japan to use the modern tools of communication to integrate Asian economies. As for hurdles to regional integration, it is very underdevelopment which marks the existence of Asia as a whole: while various countries will be helped for uplift they will have to upgrade their political systems and in this process may be poles apart by upheavals like populism and extremism. Is it necessary, then, to have a political leader to show a path to stability? Probably, Asia will require something new to reconcile politics with economic growth rather than one or the other country to dictate the rest on the path of reason. It is not socialism or capitalism but a scientific system of economic management that may do wonders for Asia

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