In 1967, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand founded the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). In the early 1990’s, five more states became members of ASEAN: Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam. For 40 years the Association of Southeast Asian Nations has been an intergovernmental organisation with a sort of double life in the international system: both with the appearance of being an international organisation and the reality of not acting like an international organisation. Southeast regionalism has indeed been the most difficult to summarise and conceptualise, because it has shaped up in an original way with respect to regional theories, showing a preference for de facto regionalisation rather than for de jure cooperation. Henceforth, the Association has been known for the highly informal 'ASEAN Way' of diplomacy. In November 2007, the Heads of State and Government of the member states signed the ASEAN Charter, which entered into force on 14 December 2008. By introducing a Charter, the Association has been given a more formal framework.

This paper surveys the ASEAN Charter’s key provisions and offers some considerations on its strategic imperatives.

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Essay     |2010-06-17 11:05:51 I must admit great analysis!

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