02 January 2008
WP148 | The Asian Financial Crisis and ASEAN’s Concept of Security
Abstract
The Asian financial crisis (1997–1998) led the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to critically examine its approach to regional security issues. As a result, the ASEAN way has been transformed from its total respect for the principle of non-interference to the formula of “enhanced interaction”, which would allow qualified intervention into the domestic affairs of the member states. The examination of the documents of ASEAN Ministerial Meetings from 1998 to 2004 reveals this change in strategic concept. However, the revision of ASEAN’s concept of security reveals the fundamental contradiction between ASEAN’s original identity based on the principle of non-interference and the need for intervention to effectively deal with issues of regional ramification. How ASEAN reconciles the existing contradiction between its identity and the necessity to intervene in the domestic affairs of its member states will determine ASEAN’s future as a regional organisation.
Abstract
The Asian financial crisis (1997–1998) led the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to critically examine its approach to regional security issues. As a result, the ASEAN way has been transformed from its total respect for the principle of non-interference to the formula of “enhanced interaction”, which would allow qualified intervention into the domestic affairs of the member states. The examination of the documents of ASEAN Ministerial Meetings from 1998 to 2004 reveals this change in strategic concept. However, the revision of ASEAN’s concept of security reveals the fundamental contradiction between ASEAN’s original identity based on the principle of non-interference and the need for intervention to effectively deal with issues of regional ramification. How ASEAN reconciles the existing contradiction between its identity and the necessity to intervene in the domestic affairs of its member states will determine ASEAN’s future as a regional organisation.
