Books

50 Years of Amity and Enmity: The Politics of ASEAN Cooperation

This book intends to offer an alternative lens for regionalism studies  in Southeast Asia. Despite of its widely acknowledged status as one  of the most successful regionalism, ASEAN still suffers from numerous  obstacles. Yet, in the midst of ASEAN uncertain future trajectories,  there is only limited consensus on how to approach ASEAN  regionalism. Scholars of ASEAN regionalism tend to use ASEAN  identity as the main explanation of cooperation among ASEAN  member states. However, this approach suffers from limitations.  Emphasis on static, traditional, and all-encompassing identity has  made issue-specific cooperation and its internal dynamics neglected.  The way issue-specific cooperation alters ASEAN architectures  also remains understudied. By shifting attentions to issue-specific  cooperation, this book attempts to fully grasp the dynamics of 50  years of ASEAN cooperation. Why could ASEAN member states  reach consensus in certain issues—ranging from energy, environment,  human rights, disaster management, human security, to infectious  disease—albeit ASEAN values such as non-interference and  informality? How do these practices of cooperation reshape the idea  of ASEAN values? Will the changing practice of issue-specific cooperation  spillover to the strengthening of ASEAN regionalism?