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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