ABSTRACT
Why has the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) proved so durable as a regional organisation given the many challenges it has faced since its inception in 1967? This analysis makes use of an historical institutionalist approach. It shows how the global political economy, through the injection of aid and investment and the development of production networks and increased trade, generated a generally positive regional economic environment that encouraged cooperation. It also provided the resources for the gradual institutionalisation of ASEAN and the expansion of its reach through the establishment of associated regional organisations. The result was that these factors, in combination, contributed to ASEAN’s staying power.
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank Greg Chin, Raul Cordenillo, and Grace Skogstad; the anonymous reviewers for this journal; and the journal editors for helpful comments on the paper. We would also like to thank those government officials who have discussed with us the issues raised in the analysis as well as. We alone are responsible for any errors in fact or judgement.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Notes on contributors
Richard Stubbs is Emeritus Professor in the Department of Political Science, McMaster University. He has published widely on the international political economy and security of East Asia. A second edition of his book, Rethinking Asia’s Miracle Economies is forthcoming.
Sorin Mitrea is a graduate student in the Department of Political Science, McMaster University. His main interests are comparative public policy and the global political economy. He has published on public policy and the political economy of austerity.