Leiden University Student Repository

Kuppen, Mathijs (2018)

Democratising ASEAN: Translating words into actions among authoritarian member states

Bachelor thesis | International Studies (BA)

Whereas the rhetoric of democracy has entered ASEAN’s agenda through the ASEAN Charter, this thesis will argue that not much democratisation has taken place in ASEAN. The high level of authoritarian ASEAN member states obstructs the process of democratisation. The unbinding and unconditional nature of ASEAN’s way of operating, also known as the ASEAN way, allows a system unsusceptible to democratic change to persist within the organisation. ASEAN’s initiatives relating to democracy have left actors involved in democratic processes disappointed due to, amongst other reasons, the interference of ASEAN’s governments. ASEAN’s power processes reflect a shared reluctance to institutionalisation. The research suggests that a higher level of democratisation in ASEAN is only likely if the number of democratic member states increases.

democratisation

institutionalism

ASEAN way

principle of non-interference

consensus-based decision-making

conditionality

Author

Kuppen, Mathijs

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Specialisation

International Studies

Supervisors

Shidiq, Rizal Akhmad

ECTS Credits

15

Language

en