Katsumata, Hiro

Abstract
This article discusses the development of the “ASEAN Way”. It argues that the basis of the “ASEAN Way” is constituted by global norms, such as the principle of non-interference. Yet the Southeast Asian countries have incrementally reconstructed these ideational elements in the Asian context, thereby developing the “ASEAN Way”, through a process of interaction over decades. This process has been affected by the particular political factors in Southeast Asia: the ASEAN countries’ particular concerns over state sovereignty, and their policy priorities in maintaining their domestic stability. The argument described above leads to the conclusion that the recent suggestions for a flexible interpretation of the “ASEAN Way” are premature. This is because the political factors which affected the development of the “ASEAN Way” have not changed much.
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