The NATO intervention in Kosovo sparked the debate on an enhanced role for regional organizations in the promotion of international peace and security. In an attempt to reconcile another debate on...Show moreThe NATO intervention in Kosovo sparked the debate on an enhanced role for regional organizations in the promotion of international peace and security. In an attempt to reconcile another debate on the tension between sovereignty and human rights, the Responsibility to Protect was unanimously adopted at the World Summit in 2005. Various regional organizations have argued for increased autonomy in the regional implementation of the Responsibility to Protect, including the African Union and ASEAN. The the impact of regional dynamics on the regionalization of a global norm has been under-examined. In particular, the impact of regional identity has been unexplored. Grounded in the constructivist approach, this exploratory research aims to provide examination of the relation between regional identities and the Responsibility to Protect. Discourse analysis and the case studies of atrocities in Libya and Myanmar find that identity can function as a narrative to legitimize or delegitimize particular aspects of the Responsibility to Protect. Regional contexts and values must thus be taken into account when promoting international normsShow less
China’s contemporary foreign policy project, dubbed the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) or the ‘New Silk Road’, which was initiated in 2013 to foster a ‘community of shared destiny’ through...Show moreChina’s contemporary foreign policy project, dubbed the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) or the ‘New Silk Road’, which was initiated in 2013 to foster a ‘community of shared destiny’ through infrastructure development, has remained a prominent contemporary issue for Southeast Asian states that are situated in one of China’s key geographical areas of interest for the BRI’s designated ‘Maritime Silk Road’. While on the one hand presenting itself as a solution to the region’s infrastructural challenges through investments, it simultaneously continues to clash with a number of states within Southeast Asia over territorial disputes within the South China Sea (SCS). In this sense, what China has gained in means of hard power, it can be argued to lack in soft power within the current regional order – a power vacuum that the implementation of developments under the banner of the Maritime Silk Road Initiative (MSRI) component of the BRI could potentially resolve for China. In attempting to find an answer to the question “How has China’s 21st Century Maritime Silk Road affected state cohesion within Southeast Asia?”, a comparison has been made between five claimant states within the SCS region (the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, and Vietnam) to see how each of their positions has potentially been altered in light of China’s MSRI, and thereby ultimately their overall cohesion. By applying a congruence analysis, the explanatory power of realist and constructivist theoretical approaches have been tested to determine which variables have been decisive in foreign policy decision-making for the observed cases. While the variables related to realism have been concluded to be more decisive for a decrease in cohesion amongst the claimant states for the time being, developments under the banner of the BRI as well as the SCS disputes are in constant flux. Therefore no definitive conclusion can be drawn yet with respect to the direction of regionalism in Southeast Asia and the most suitable theoretical explanation thereof.Show less
The lingering dispute between Cambodia and Thailand over the ancient Temple of Preah Vihear has still not been resolved. This may seem strange from the point of view of international law. In 1962,...Show moreThe lingering dispute between Cambodia and Thailand over the ancient Temple of Preah Vihear has still not been resolved. This may seem strange from the point of view of international law. In 1962, the International Court of Justice made a ruling on this issue, which should have resolved the dispute between the two countries. The ongoing dispute is, in fact, an indicator of the more comprehensive problem of demarcation of the past. The origins of the Preah Vihear Temple border conflict date back to colonial times and the subsequent decolonization period. During those times, both Cambodia and Thailand made efforts to augment their territorial sovereignty and to promote nationalism. The conflict thus created unfortunately continues to this day. The temple dispute has always been ready to erupt under the right circumstances if it suited Thai and Cambodian politicians. Moreover, the negative images and memories between Thailand and Cambodia have never ceased to exist, but are instead carefully maintained for political purposes. Such perspectives make it highly unlikely that the Preah Vihear issue will be resolved any time soon. Thai and Cambodian leaders have become stuck in a cycle of distrust about border issues that has been going on for many decades. The Preah Vihear dispute shows just how fragile Thai-Cambodian relations really are. The painful historical background, along with nationalist sentiments in the unfinished development of nation-building in both countries, is thwarting the formation of good relations. Preah Vihear, the temple on the border, has remained at the center of bilateral anxiety. This place of consecration has thus become a bone of contention.Show less
This research provides a comparison and analysis of the economic growth in China and Vietnam with a focus on the environmental aspect so that Vietnam can learn from China's experiences. The...Show moreThis research provides a comparison and analysis of the economic growth in China and Vietnam with a focus on the environmental aspect so that Vietnam can learn from China's experiences. The research found four key aspects important for environmental-friendly economic growth. The first aspect is environmental policies, which need the right implementation and enforcement to work properly. The second aspect is the energy mix, that needs to be diverse with enough forms of renewable energy. With the share of renewable energy growing in the mix, both the energy demand and the environment will benefit. The third aspect FDI raises the human capital level, which has a positive effect on innovation of production processes and a sustainable economy. Lastly, there is ASEAN which promotes regional cooperation in the field of environmental sustainability, to tackle regional cross-border problems. The right implementation of these four aspects is the key to environmentally friendly growth in Vietnam.Show less
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) stands at the forefront of Southeast Asian regional cooperation. Within its fifty years of existence, ASEAN has faced many challenges, among them...Show moreThe Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) stands at the forefront of Southeast Asian regional cooperation. Within its fifty years of existence, ASEAN has faced many challenges, among them the territorial disputes in the South China Sea involving overlapping claims of its member countries with China. Despite ASEAN’s efforts to create peace and stability in the region, effective multilateral measures remain scarce. Although often praised as a strong point of ASEAN, this thesis highlights that ASEAN’s diversity remains one of its main weaknesses in finding common ground for multilateral approaches in regional security.Show less
Energy security in this day and age is an increasingly complex concept for policymakers to deal with. In order to sustain future economic growth while keeping in account issues of territorial...Show moreEnergy security in this day and age is an increasingly complex concept for policymakers to deal with. In order to sustain future economic growth while keeping in account issues of territorial disputes and environmental pollution, many scholars have anticipated a great role for ASEAN, the regional organisation in Southeast Asia, in fostering regional cooperation on energy security. The dominant perspective within the literature analyses ASEAN in practical terms of material outcomes and claims that ASEAN should follow a similar path as the European Union, focussing on functional cooperation. However, the current research concurs with a marginalised and underdeveloped perspective in the literature and claims that norms and the establishment of a regional identity are crucial in understanding cooperation on energy security in Southeast Asia. The contribution of the research is twofold. First, its analyses of ASEAN’s regional energy security policies, the Laos-Thailand-Malaysia-Singapore power interconnection project and nuclear energy developments finds that ASEAN’s normative approach is crucial in understanding development of and the rationale behind cooperation on energy projects in the region. Secondly, it finds that contrary to the assumption of many scholars in the existing literature on energy security in ASEAN, ASEAN’s norms are not static but undergo change through a process of norm localisation, in which external norms and practices are adopted and localised within pre-existing institutional norms and practices. The thesis concludes that norms play a crucial role in ASEAN’s approach to fostering regional cooperation on energy security, dictating both form and function of cooperation. A normative approach is therefore key in gaining a better understanding of the development of energy security cooperation amongst Southeast Asian states.Show less
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has been recognized as the most successful regional cooperative and multilateral effort in the history of Southeast Asia. This is due to the...Show moreThe Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has been recognized as the most successful regional cooperative and multilateral effort in the history of Southeast Asia. This is due to the ability to create and maintain peace and stability in a region that is formed by ten countries with extremely diverse political, economic and socio-cultural backgrounds. Conflicting territorial claims in the South China Sea by four ASEAN countries (Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines) with the territorial lines drawn by China, remain the most pressing challenge for the region and represents a worrying geopolitical struggle that is difficult to reconcile with the common perception of ASEAN as a strong and united regional powerhouse. ASEAN has assumed the South China Sea issue under its multilateral framework, involving China in the creation of a code of conduct in the SCS. Despite these efforts, the position of ASEAN itself on this issue has been inconsistent, as evidenced in its political stance through its annual statement and communique. While the main literature has observed this phenomenon under the assumption that the ever-growing Chinese economic power, is the element that could explain what we are observing in the region, I argue that even though the economic power of Beijing does play an important role, it is not enough to explain the various positions that we are seeing between the member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and that other factors need to be taken into consideration to better understand the underlying mechanisms that are at play in the region .Show less
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has been deemed as the most successful regional grouping in the history of Southeast Asia, most notorious for its achievement in creating and...Show moreAssociation of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has been deemed as the most successful regional grouping in the history of Southeast Asia, most notorious for its achievement in creating and maintaining peace and stability in the region comprising 10 countries with vastly diverse political, economic and socio-cultural background. The territorial claims concerning South China Sea by four ASEAN countries (Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia, Philippines and Viet Nam) against China remains the most pressing challenge for the region up to the present day. While ASEAN has taken up the issue under its multilateral framework in which ASEAN and China have been working towards a code of conduct in South China Sea, it is found that ASEAN itself is inconsistent in its position when it comes to South China Sea as evident in its political stance through its annual statement and communique. Such inconsistency is in line with various critics on ASEAN’s informal and weak institutionalisation due to its lack of sense of regional belonging. As ASEAN itself has repeatedly emphasises the need of ASEAN centrality in regional and international set up, the foresaid issue is inarguably a testament to ASEAN centrality. Taking into account that the conduct of ASEAN depends very much on its annually rotated chairmanship, in which the chair has the responsibility to ensure ASEAN centrality, this thesis aims to investigate how a country’s national identity affect its regional identity under ASEAN’s regionalism with regard to the South China Sea issue through ASEAN chairmanship. To this end, this thesis investigates how Myanmar, Malaysia and Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR), as ASEAN chairs in 2014, 2015 and 2016, respectively, led ASEAN in achieving a common position on South China Sea and how prominent are their national identities in their undertakings.Show less
The increase of ASEAN tasks and functions has risen to a point where human rights have become enshrined in a regional commission. How can this be explained considering the history of straight up...Show moreThe increase of ASEAN tasks and functions has risen to a point where human rights have become enshrined in a regional commission. How can this be explained considering the history of straight up human right abstinence and abuses throughout the history of the member states. I hypothesise in this thesis that the recent democratisation of regimes of ASEAN member states caused supranationalism in the form of the creation of the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission for Human Rights. In order to consolidate the new democracy, regimes may pursuit locking them in into supranational institutions. This will prevent the democratic regime from falling back to authoritarian rule, since it’s citizens rights are protected by a higher authority, out of reach of the direct power of the regime. Results suggest this theory may hold validity in the ASEAN region where recently democratised states are more likely to support supranational institutions than the long term democracies or authoritarian states. This means change in direction and norms in ASEAN is the result of democratisation of member states that are using ASEAN as vehicle for domestic political goals.Show less
In 2007 Sri Lanka joined the ASEAN Regional Forum of the Association of South East Asian Nations. Sri Lanka has been working towards this for forty years. Already in 1967 and in 1981 the government...Show moreIn 2007 Sri Lanka joined the ASEAN Regional Forum of the Association of South East Asian Nations. Sri Lanka has been working towards this for forty years. Already in 1967 and in 1981 the government of the country voiced their desire to become a member. It was rejected on the grounds that the country was not part of Southeast Asia. Myanmar, which was a part of the region, was accepted into the regional organization in the nineties. The question that these developments raise is why does Sri Lanka not belong to the region of Southeast Asia? How did the representatives of the member states know where the borders were? My research questions was: Why was Sri Lanka not allowed to join the ASEAN and Burma was? The reason why Sri Lanka was not granted membership to the ASEAN that was given was that the country was not a part of Southeast Asia but I believe that a case can be made that the domestic situation in Sri Lanka has also played a part in the decision.Show less
