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Theories on ASEAN Security

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The ASEAN Regional Security Partnership

Part of the book series: New Security Challenges Series ((NSECH))

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Abstract

Theoretical debates on whether or not ASEAN matters in the realm of security, are quite recent. Until the 1990s students of Southeast Asian affairs were unwilling to go out on a limb with theory and prediction,1 and even theoretically-oriented scholars cast doubts on the usefulness of theories on Asia.2 Over the last two decades, this picture has changed profoundly, and a prolific debate centered on a crucial question first raised by Kivimäki in ‘Power, Interest or Culture — is there a paradigm that explains the ASEAN political role best?,’3 has opened up. In an attempt to answer this question two major perspectives, realism and constructivism, have emerged in both academic and policy debates. While acknowledging that there are important insights to be gained from both perspectives, this monograph adopts the less common neoliberal institutionalist perspective as a mirror that reflects the state of security cooperation in Southeast Asia and by which its limits can be identified.

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Notes

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  1. University of Catania, Italy

    Angela Pennisi di Floristella

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© 2015 Angela Pennisi di Floristella

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di Floristella, A.P. (2015). Theories on ASEAN Security. In: The ASEAN Regional Security Partnership. New Security Challenges Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137488596_2

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