Education for Building Bridges and Strengthening Physical Infrastructural Linkages in South Asia: A Case Study of South Asian University

Multi-track diplomacy provides an effective theoretical model, which considers education as an important track integral in ushering peace, building bridges, creating the necessary infrastructure, changing mindsets and ultimately enabling a transformation from conflict prone to peace-oriented societies. Thus, giving rise to the idea of a regional higher education institution, primarily to build a regional center of excellence, with a shared common vision, that would help create a South Asian community and provide equitable access to students from all over the region. However, functioning for a decade now, the South Asian University has not been able to achieve many of the aims associated with it, largely due to the inherent hurdles and regional politics. This study will highlight the impediments faced within the region for utilizing education as an effective bridge builder and agent for positive conflict transformation and further examine the SAU's ability to transcend the deeply entrenched conflict narrative.