Tang, Chih-Mao

Abstract
The scholarship has argued that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) security management, outweighing democracy and economic interdependence, is the main force constituting Southeast Asian peace. However, although neither democracy nor economic interdependence significantly contributes to peacefulness in Southeast Asia, this study posits and finds that prior literature overlooks the possible conflict-constraining effect of a ruling group’s desire and resolve to pursue economic development with liberal capitalist economic policy, which causes that the pacifying effect of ASEAN security management to be exaggerated. This study distinguishes the conflict-constraining effect of liberal capitalist economic development policy from the outcome effects of economic interdependence and the ASEAN security management and argues that the common interests and preferences of adopting economic liberalization policy for economic development exert a more significant effect in preventing conflicts in Southeast Asia. Empirical analyses of the onset of militarized interstate disputes between Southeast Asian states from 1950 to 2000 support this argument.