Asean regional order in the context of the english school theory (1967-2015)

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to analyse the formation, characteristics and appearance of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) regional order, within the order concept of the English School (ES) theory in the International Relations discipline. Within the framework of the ES theory, this study focuses on the position of actors in the ASEAN regional order, the features of ASEAN cooperation, internal and external factors that shape ASEAN cooperation, and the normative agenda of the ASEAN regional order. This thesis indicates that from the formation of the order to the community building, how ASEAN cooperation has developed and why ASEAN has yet been ineffective in the face of certain events. In this context, the results of this study can be listed as follows: 1) The interests of the member states, the characteristic of the power balance and the strategies of the great powers for the region, are the most influential dynamics in shaping the ASEAN regional order. 2) Due to the ASEAN regional order, which was based on common rules and principles, some major disputes did not cause an intergovernmental war. Through a regional order, significant economic outputs have been achieved for member states. 3) The normative agenda of the ASEAN regional order transformed from pluralism, which aims to protect the sovereignty, legitimacy and territorial integrity of the member states, to a state-centred solidarism, which included the development and promotion of human rights and involving cooperation from NGOs. 4) Even though the cooperation between states in the ASEAN regional order is constantly strengthening (such as tackling non-traditional security threats, or a single market and production base) in the organizational framework, different attitudes of the member states in practice weakened ASEAN solidarity. 5) Most of the times, ASEAN norms, which emphasize the sovereignty sensitivity of the member states in practice, and the ASEAN way, which envisages flexible cooperation, are dynamics that prevent ASEAN from functioning effectively as seen in economic crisis, regional haze, East Timor issue, and the Preah Vihear dispute. Besides these findings, this study shows that if ASEAN wants to build a stronger regional order, the ASEAN way, which is the method of cooperation between member states, should be more effective and ASEAN's institutional capacity should be stronger.