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ISSN 0143-6597 print/ISSN 1360-2241 online/03/020375-16 2003 Third World Quarterly
DOI: 10.1080/0143659032000074646
375
Third World Quarterly, Vol 24, No 2, pp 375–390, 2003
This article explores how traditional modes of regional interaction in Southeast
Asia are undergoing transformation as a result of rapid changes in domestic
political structures. The key force for change identified here is democratisation.
Unlike in Europe, regional institution building in Southeast Asia was not founded
upon a shared commitment to liberal democracy. The founding of the Association
of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was helped by the common desire of its
members to ensure the survival of regimes which had by then retreated signifi-
cantly from their postcolonial experiments in liberal democracy. This orientation
was further institutionalised by ASEAN’s doctrine of non-interference, which
helped to shield its members from outside pressures towards democratisation.
Democratisation and the prospects
for participatory regionalism in
Southeast Asia
AMITAV ACHARYA
ABSTRACT This article explores the impact of democratic transitions in
Southeast Asia on regional co-operation, and the relationship between this
process and the development of a non-official regionalism. Until now,
regionalism in Southeast Asia has been essentially elite-centred and politically
illiberal. The emergence of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations was
founded upon the common desire of its members, which had by then retreated
significantly from their postcolonial experiments in liberal democracy, to ensure
regime survival. This orientation was further institutionalised by ASEAN’s doctrine
of non-interference, which helped to shield its members from outside pressures
towards democratisation. But with democratisation in the Philippines, Thailand
and more recently Indonesia, the ASEAN model of elite-centric regional socialisa-
tion has been challenged. The civil society in the region demands greater open-
ness in Southeast Asian regionalism. The article proposes a conceptual frame-
work for analysing the relationship between democratisation and regionalism,
with the key argument being that the displacement of traditional patterns of
regional elite socialisation has been offset by potential gains such as advances in
regional conflict management, transparency and rule-based interactions. But the
realisation of a more ‘participatory regionalism’ in Southeast Asia faces a
number of barriers, including obstacles to further democratisation, the continued
salience of the non-interference doctrine and the diminished space for civil
society in the wake of the 11 September terrorist attacks.
Amitav Acharya is at the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies, Nanyang Technological University,
Singapore 639798. E-mail: isaacharya@ntu.edu.sg.
AMITAV ACHARYA
Since the ‘people’s power’ revolution in the Philippines in 1986, Southeast
Asia has experienced an incremental process of democratisation. The Philippines
was followed by Thailand, then Cambodia, and more recently Indonesia.
Only Burma has clearly gone in the opposite direction. But pro-democracy
forces opposing the junta in Burma have been active in Thailand. The democratic
transition in Indonesia has had an effect in encouraging pro-democratic
sentiments in neighbouring states, especially Malaysia.
The process of democratisation during the late 1980s and 1990s (Acharya,
1999) has called into question the ASEAN model of elite-centric regional socialisa-
tion. Political change in Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia has engendered
efforts at democratising regionalism. The civil society in the region demands
greater openness in Southeast Asian regionalism.
This article begins by proposing a conceptual framework for analysing the
relationship between democratisation and regionalism.1This is followed by an
examination of the consequences of democratisation for the traditional structures
and dynamics of Southeast Asian regionalism. The key argument here is that
while these consequences are mixed, the displacement of traditional patterns of
regional elite socialisation has been offset by gains such as advances in regional
conflict management, transparency and rule-based interactions. Moreover, these
pave the way for a more ‘participatory regionalism’ in Southeast Asia. The final
section of the article examines the key aspects of this participatory regionalism.
Democratisation and regionalism: a conceptual framework
The consequence of democratisation for regionalism can be examined in terms of
a number of hypotheses. First, democratisation may alter the domestic political
climate on which regional interactions are based. Preoccupation with democra-
tisation diverts the attention and resources of leaders from regional co-operation.
The advent of a new and legitimate regime may revive tensions over issues
‘settled’ by an unpopular ousted regime. Resurgent nationalism, which is often a
feature of newly democratic states, could fuel such tensions. Civil society groups
remain hostile towards regional institutions which backed the ousted regime. If
the new regime happens to be led by people who, as opposition leaders, were
severely persecuted by the ousted authoritarian but pro-regionalist regime, then
the former’s commitment to the regional institution could be weak. In any
regional institution, change in the top leadership of member states can disrupt
socialisation with fellow members. But this is especially true of regional institu-
tions founded upon close interpersonal ties and informal contacts among leaders
and elites. In other words, regional institutions established and maintained by
authoritarian states could lose legitimacy and support from within the population
of those member states that have experienced greater domestic political open-
ness.
Second, democratisation may call into question the sanctity of existing regional
norms and the relevance of existing institutional mechanisms. The instability that
accompanies democratisation has a spill-over effect which may strain the norms
of regional institutions committed to the principle of non-interference in the
internal affairs of states. Democratic rulers, pandering to nationalist sentiments,
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DEMOCRATISATION AND THE PROSPECTS FOR PARTICIPATORY REGIONALISM
could become less inclined to resort to collective procedures and practices for
conflict management. Institutions and procedures favoured by an ousted dictator,
especially if he happens to be from a leading member state, may be discredited in
the changed political climate. Added to this are the consequences of democratisa-
tion for self-determination in ethnically divided autocracies. Leaders of separatist
movements who become leaders of new states created by the collapse of an
authoritarian polity are likely to be hostile towards a regional grouping which had
previously not supported their cause or even acquiesced with their suppression
out of deference to regional norms. Finally, uneven democratisation within a
regional grouping could polarise members over key political issues, including
promotion of human rights and democracy through regional means. The non-
democratic members are likely to strongly resist any political proposals for pro-
democracy changes coming from the democratic camp.
Democratisation may also have a number of positive consequences for
regionalism. Democratic transition may create unanticipated moments of bold-
ness in foreign policy, which could break long-standing stalemates in regional
conflicts. This is partly because of the impulsive move by newly democratic
states to distance themselves from the policies of their authoritarian predecessors.
Moreover, by seeking a broader range of views on foreign policy and permitting
greater domestic discussion and debate over foreign policy goals, democracies
may be able to offer alternative solutions to existing regional conflicts. In fact,
contrary to a popular belief that newly installed democracies destabilise their
neighbourhood by seeking to ‘export’ their revolution, one finds evidence that
democracies often deal creatively and responsibly with their neighbours,
including those with whom they might have been embroiled in conflict. As will
be discussed later, the case of Thailand in the late 1980s supports this argument.
Democratisation creates more domestic transparency in ways beneficial to
regional understanding and trust. Transition to democratic rule brings in its wake
availability of greater information about a state’s national security and financial
policies and assets. This could reduce suspicions among neighbours and expand
regional security and economic co-operation. Democratisation may lead to more
open and regularised interactions among states, reducing the importance of inter-
personal contact. Democratisation produces greater openness and the rule of law
not just within states, but also between them. Rule of law in the domestic context
often leads to demands for rule-based interactions in the regional arena. This can
be more conducive to regional collective problem solving.
Democratisation creates a deeper basis for regional socialisation by according
space to civil society and accommodating its concerns. Most forms of regional-
ism in the developing world (indeed anywhere for that matter) have been highly
state-centric, which in turn invites opposition to their agenda from domestic and
international civic action groups. A grouping of more participatory polities could
change this and thereby increase the chances for more effective responses to
transnational issues.
Next, democratisation broadens the scope of the agenda of regional institu-
tions, permitting a more relaxed view of sovereignty and allowing these institu-
tions to address issues which might have been considered too sensitive to authori-
tarian states (such as human rights promotion). Newly empowered civil society
377
AMITAV ACHARYA
elements apply pressure on their own governments to find regional approaches to
transnational issues such as the environment, refugees and migration. This
increases the overall relevance of regional institutions in promoting regional
peace and stability.
Last but not least, democratisation may secure better support for regional
integration and co-operative projects from outside powers. In the changing inter-
national climate, where democracy and human rights have become ever more
influential international norms, regional groupings of authoritarian states, or
groupings that reluctantly tolerate authoritarianism out of deference to the
principle of non-interference, are unlikely to find sympathy and support from
international donors. Increasingly, the aid policies of bilateral and to some extent,
multilateral donors are specifically tied to the human rights policies and demo-
cratic practices of recipient states. Domestic pressure in donor countries makes it
difficult for them to support regional groupings perceived to be anti-human
rights and democracy. On the other hand, more aid is now available to regional
groupings which promote democracy and human rights.
Authoritarianism, democracy and Southeast Asian regionalism
Assessing the impact of democratisation on regionalism in Southeast Asia
requires an understanding of the nexus between authoritarianism and the origins
of ASEAN. A collective retreat from postcolonial experiments in liberal democracy
was a key factor contributing to ASEAN’s formation and consolidation. Liberal
democracy had a considerable appeal among Southeast Asian nationalists (with
the exception of Vietnam). But their acceptance of democracy proved to be
qualified and short-lived. The late 1950s marked the beginning of the end of the
Southeast Asian nationalist elites’ flirtation with democratic systems modelled
after their former colonial masters. A major shift occurred in Indonesia, where
President Sukarno dismissed the legally elected parliament and established
‘guided democracy’ to replace the liberal ‘50 per cent plus one’ democracy in
Indonesia (Yong, 1992: 433). A similar complaint against liberal democracy was
lodged by President Marcos of the Philippines, who, nearing the end of his
second elected term in office, imposed martial law in September 1972, citing the
threat of communist insurgency. Marcos’s idea of ‘new society was centred
on the principle of ‘constitutional authoritarianism’, emphasising the prior
importance of stability over participatory politics (Yong, 1992: 426). In Malaysia
and Singapore democratic institutions based on the British model fared better
without any military takeovers. But in Malaysia as well as in Burma, domestic
ethnic and communal discord contributed to the retreat of democracy. Malaysia’s
ethnic politics, including tensions among the three principal groups, Malays,
Chinese and Indians, imposed limits on the functioning of liberal democracy. The
race riots in 1969 led to a major restructuring of the country’s political and
economic system, including a temporary suspension of parliament, and an
attempt by the Malay leadership to develop a more corporatist structure by co-
opting many opposition parties to the ruling coalition, the National Alliance. The
leadership then proclaimed a national ideology, the Rukunegara, which put a
premium on loyalty to the king, country and constitution, banned debate on
378
DEMOCRATISATION AND THE PROSPECTS FOR PARTICIPATORY REGIONALISM
sensitive issues such as the status of Malays, introduced a new economic policy
that moved away from the laissez faire system and created policies to redistribute
wealth in favour of Malays, redressing an economic imbalance. Singapore, too,
developed into a dominant-party system.
Early academic explanations of democratic breakdowns in Southeast Asia
emphasised cultural variables, especially the tension between traditional and
modern concepts of power and authority. Lucian Pye contrasted two conceptions
of authority in Southeast Asia: one influenced by colonial rule, bureaucratic,
legal and rational; the other rooted in traditional culture and religion and
producing a patrimonial political framework. The two were in constant conflict.
Initially, the former prevailed because Western liberal notions of power were
popular within nationalist movements dominated by Westernised elites. But
subsequently a revival of traditional concepts of power produced a rejection of
liberal democracy (Pye, 1985). Indonesia, in the shift from Sukarno to Suharto,
provided the clearest example of this trend. Indonesia started its postcolonial
polity by emulating European-style democracy, and its political system espoused
a rational, legal and constitutional type of authority. But Sukarno abandoned this
in favour of ‘guided democracy’ based on traditional patrimonial rule. He
denounced Western political and social values, and urged a return to governance
based on the traditional principles of consensus, gotong-rotong, and musjawarah,
or community mutual assistance and discussion leading to consensus.
A return to more ‘indigenous’ conceptions of authority had implications not
only for the domestic politics of the states concerned, which assumed an increas-
ingly patrimonial character, it also shaped the conduct of foreign policy and
regional co-operation, where it led to the emergence of the ‘ASEAN way’. ASEAN
was established in 1967 with the initial membership of Thailand, Indonesia, the
Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore, countries, which had, to varying degrees,
experienced a retreat from liberal democracy. While the outward objective of
ASEAN was to promote socioeconomic development of its members, its core basis
was the members’ common concern with regime survival in the face of domestic
and external threats, especially communist subversion (Acharya, 1992). At the
same time, ASEAN states, still nationalist-minded and zealous about their hard-
earned sovereignty, rejected Western models of regionalism, such as the supra-
national and highly institutionalised European Community framework. In this
context the traditional principles of gotong-rotong and musjawarah seemed an
ideal way to develop regional co-operation. The ‘ASEAN way’ was defined in
terms of informality, consultations and consensus, organisational minimalism and
flexibility (Acharya, 2000b). On the surface, the process of consultations and
consensus in ASEAN, with its basis in traditional culture, is supposed to be a
democratic approach to decision making,2but the ASEAN process was managed
through close interpersonal contacts among the top leaders, who shared a
reluctance to institutionalise and legalise co-operation which could undermine
the regime’s control over the conduct of regional co-operation. Negotiations
within ASEAN had no input from civil society and no feedback mechanism to take
account of public opinion. Issues of human rights, democracy and environment
were kept strictly off ASEAN’s agenda. Non-interference in the internal affairs
of member states was the core ASEAN norm, except that ASEAN governments
379
AMITAV ACHARYA
developed an extensive network of bilateral security ties aimed at denying
sanctuaries to insurgent groups and suppressing them. Overall, the ‘ASEAN way’
supported a narrow elite-centred and sovereignty-bound framework of regional-
ism confined to intergovernmental contacts, providing little scope for collectively
addressing emerging transnational issues such as the environment, migration,
refugees or for securing the involvement of social forces in the regional identity-
building project. These main features of the ‘ASEAN way’, including its emphasis
on regional cultural patterns and identity, avoidance of legalistic institutions and
norms, dependence on high-level leaders, the tendency to ‘sweep conflicts under
the carpet’ so as not to create Western-style adversarial negotiating and bargain-
ing postures, and state-centrism, qualified it as the core basis of Southeast Asia’s
‘patrimonial regionalism’.3
Southeast Asia’s collective descent to authoritarian rule had paradoxical effects
on regional order. It introduced an element of political convergence to what had
been a strikingly diverse membership in terms of ethnicity, religion, language,
colonial legacy and postcolonial polity (Acharya, 2000a). ASEAN members, with a
common fear of Vietnamese communism, embraced the ‘free market’ while
keeping their political systems closed or semi-closed. This combination proved
acceptable, indeed, highly convenient, to the Western powers in the Cold War
geopolitical climate. As a result, Western economic and political support for
ASEAN, including access to markets, foreign investment and aid, and diplomatic
support for ASEAN’s international campaign to punish Vietnam, contributed to its
reputation and image as an effective manager of regional problems. This, along
with the common internal threat perceived from communist subversion and
ethnic separatism, led to the amelioration of intra-mural disputes within ASEAN,
thereby paving the way for its emergence as a viable regional grouping. Authori-
tarianism and regionalism proved to be mutually complementary.
Democratic transitions in three out of the four cases in Southeast Asia
(Philippines 1986, Thailand 1991–92, Cambodia, 1993 and Indonesia, 1998) over
the past 15 years have not produced a regime which has willingly undermined its
state-centric regionalism. There was no downgrading or change in the commit-
ments of the Philippines and Thailand to ASEAN in the wake of democratic
transitions. Instead, the solidarity shown by ASEAN leaders to President Cory
Aquino may have enhanced the regime’s dependence on ASEAN support and
strengthened regionalism. The democratisation of Cambodia under the UN’s
auspices made it more suitable for membership in ASEAN, although it is debatable
whether this move strengthened or weakened the organisation. Hun Sen’s tirades
against ASEAN for postponing Cambodia’s accession in 1997 in response to his
‘coup’ stopped when Cambodia was finally admitted in 1999 after undertaking
necessary democratic changes.
But democratisation has certainly altered the political climate of regional inter-
actions in Southeast Asia. The domestic preoccupation of the newly democratic
regime in Indonesia has led it to neglect regional co-operation (Acharya, 2000c).
Indonesia has not reneged on any of the commitments of its predecessor to
ASEAN but there remains a possibility that the new Indonesian nationalism could
translate into animosity against specific ASEAN neighbours. Indonesia’s recent
problems with Malaysia and Singapore (for very different reasons) attest to this
380
DEMOCRATISATION AND THE PROSPECTS FOR PARTICIPATORY REGIONALISM
possibility. Both Singapore and Malaysia have made a firm commitment to
Indonesian territorial integrity in the wake of the separation of East Timor. But
this did not prevent bilateral ties from being damaged over political issues. The
new Indonesian government’s support for pro-reformasi forces in Malaysia led
by Anwar Ibrahim angered Malaysia. Singapore, despite having courted
Abdurrahman Wahid before his election as president, was not spared his wrath
over its perceived failure to offer economic support. And the Megawati govern-
ment has responded to Singapore’s demand for stronger action against terrorist
suspects taking shelter in Indonesia by citing its democratic political system,
which does not permit arbitrary arrests of the kind that Internal Security Acts in
Malaysia and Singapore facilitate.
Democratisation has disrupted the traditional pattern of elite socialisation
within ASEAN. The departure of Suharto, ‘the father of ASEAN’, compounded the
impact of generational shifts in the old ASEAN. Another change induced by
democratisation is the growing criticism and rejection of the ‘ASEAN way’.
Although much of this criticism was initially inspired by ASEAN’s perceived
inability to respond effectively to the Asian economic crisis, there is certainly a
link with the democratisation process in the region, especially in Thailand. The
Thai government’s call for ‘flexible engagement’ and a more open ASEAN during
1998–99 was partly inspired by a desire to project its own democratic credentials.
The climate of regional interactions is also affected by the growing voice of
regional social movements. Civil societies in Indonesia and elsewhere in the
region have felt resentful towards ASEAN for its reluctance to support their cause
or involve them in its decision making. This has led to a call from the NGO
community in Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Cambodia and Malaysia
for ASEAN to become more open. Democratisation has thus undermined the
legitimacy of ASEAN’s elite-centred regionalism.
While democratisation has altered the climate of regionalism in Southeast
Asia, this does not imply a threat to regional order. Three benefits of democra-
tisation to regional order may be cited. First, democratisation in Thailand offered
a breakthrough in regional conflicts in the late 1980s. Then, under a new govern-
ment elected through a legitimate democratic process, Thailand adopted a foreign
policy which had as its objective, the transformation of the ‘Indochinese battle-
fields to marketplaces’. This dramatic turn was in direct violation of the existing
ASEAN policy, which disallowed regular economic contacts with Indochina in the
absence of a Vietnamese military withdrawal from Cambodia.4The new Thai
government might have acted out of economic expediency (the actual lure of
Indochinese resources and markets), or out of sheer geopolitical ambition (to
develop a Thai-dominated Southeast Asian heartland as implicit under the
government’s revival of the traditional Thai Golden Peninsula concept). But the
outcome was a relaxation of regional tensions. It helped to reduce Vietnamese
suspicions of ASEAN, and encouraged greater moderation on the part of Hanoi,
leading to its decision to withdraw its forces from Cambodia, a key step towards
the eventual settlement.
Second, by engendering greater transparency in the domestic arena, democra-
tisation could help mitigate intra-regional suspicions. Democratic reforms in
Thailand and Indonesia have allowed greater information on Thai defence
381
AMITAV ACHARYA
spending and exposed the corruption in arms procurement that drove defence
expenditures in Indonesia under Suharto. Democratisation in the Philippines has
led to a defence procurement and spending system which is subject to legislative
scrutiny. Third, as will be discussed in the next section, democratisation in
Southeast Asia has also produced demands for more open and rule-based
regional institutions. The economic crisis in 1997 was partly blamed on the elite-
centred regionalism that prevented members from sharing vital economic
information about their national economies as an early-warning mechanism. This
has led to demands for more transparency and peer review in the regional
political economy.
Towards participatory regionalism
Against this backdrop we examine the relevance of new concepts and approaches
towards a more participatory regionalism in Southeast Asia. The term ‘participa-
tory regionalism’ as used here is distinguished by two key features. The first, at
the level of official regionalism, is the acceptance by governments of a more
relaxed view of state sovereignty and the attendant norm of non-interference in
the internal affairs of states. This allows for more open discussion of, and action
on, problems facing a region and creates more space for non-governmental actors
in the decision-making process. A second feature of participatory regionalism is
the development of a close nexus between governments and civil society
in managing regional and transnational issues. This means not just greater co-
operation among the social movements leading to the emergence of a regional
civil society, but also closer and positive interaction between the latter and the
official regionalism of states.
In post-crisis Southeast Asia both elements of participatory regionalism are
evident. This is found in the idea of ‘flexible engagement’ advanced by the Thai
Foreign Minister of the period, Surin Pitsuwan. This approach, like the idea of
‘constructive intervention’ advanced by the now-deposed Anwar Ibrahim
(Acharya, 1997), was not an outright rejection of state sovereignty. In the
economic arena, it called for greater openness in regional consultations, informa-
tion sharing, and peer review of domestic economic policies. In the political
arena, it sought the right of a member to criticise what it considered to be
unacceptable internal conduct of fellow ASEAN regimes; for example, Thailand
claimed a right to criticise the human rights abuses and anti-democracy policies
of the regime in Burma. Flexible engagement thus implied a dilution of ASEAN’s
principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of states.
Intended to correct what the minister perceived to be a primary reason behind
ASEAN’s ineffectual response to the regional economic panic, flexible engagement
was also a response to the growing seriousness of transnational challenges: forest
fires in Indonesia and the resulting haze which affected neighbouring states,
causing serious economic and health concerns; drug trafficking and refugee flows
out of Burma. These have had a lot to do with Thailand’s more interventionist
attitude towards Burma’s domestic affairs. Surin also invoked the need for such a
policy in the wake of ASEAN’s failure to provide a timely response to the blood-
shed in East Timor during the course of its separation from Indonesia, out of
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DEMOCRATISATION AND THE PROSPECTS FOR PARTICIPATORY REGIONALISM
deference to strict non-interference. As a policy, flexible engagement had strong
roots in changing Thai domestic politics.5The Chuan Leekpai government
disliked its country’s past support for the ‘constructive engagement’ policy, and
did not want to be seen as part of a ‘club of dictators’ (a reference to ASEAN,
which accepted Burma as a member despite international protests). The desire to
pursue a new course was also inspired by the Chuan government’s own demo-
cratic impulse, as its predecessor, though nominally democratic and legitimate,
was widely seen to be under greater military influence. (Its Prime Minister,
Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, played a key role in the origins of the constructive
engagement policy towards Burma and the Thai military had been implicated in
cultivating the Burmese junta.)
Resistance from Singapore, Malaysia and the Suharto and Habibie govern-
ments in Indonesia to flexible engagement succeeded in reducing it to a much
more sovereignty conforming ‘Enhanced interaction’ concept. One of the striking
features of the debate over non-interference in ASEAN has been to expose a clear
division between the democratic and authoritarian members over the issue (for
details, see Acharya, 2000b; Kraft, 2000). The most severe critics of flexible
engagement have been Vietnam and Burma. The Philippines has been a supporter
and Indonesia since the advent of a democratic government has signalled a more
open attitude towards the issue of outside roles in its domestic affairs. To quote
Adian Silalahi, Director General of ASEAN in the Indonesian Foreign Ministry:
We still adhere to those principles [of ASEAN], but I believe that on this issue [non-
intervention] we are more open now. It is no longer a principle which cannot be
discussed. Indonesia is more open, more flexible because of the democratization
process. (cited in Suryodiningrat, 2000: 1)
Until now, the engagement of civil society in ASEAN has been minimal.
Traditionally, there has been far greater co-operation between ASEAN intelligence
agencies than ASEAN social movements. The Track-II processes, which are some-
times cited as examples of the participation of civil society in regional institution
building, are in reality dominated by government-sponsored and -supported
think-tanks. Moreover, a key principle of Track-II, the participation of govern-
ment officials ‘in their private capacity’ has rarely been upheld in practice;
seldom have these officials been able to rise above national interests and
concerns.
For their part, Southeast Asian NGOs have developed their own separate
identities, networks and approaches (Lizee, 2000), adopting mainly confronta-
tional tactics that condemn ASEAN’s pursuit of economic globalisation and its
neglect of, and tolerance for, human rights abuses and anti-democratic practices
in the region. Several such regional coalitions of NGOs, some of them linked to
wider Asian networks, have emerged. One clear example of NGO networking was
the parallel meeting of Asian and Western NGOs in Bangkok in 1993, when a
group of Asian governments were meeting to decide on a common strategy for
the impending Vienna World Conference on Human Rights. Subsequently, Asian
NGOs have participated in protests against APEC’s free trade agenda, most clearly
visible during its Vancouver summit in 1997, and in parallel summits organised
during the sessions of ASEAN, APEC and the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF). The
383
AMITAV ACHARYA
high profile campaigns of groups such as the Asia Pacific Conference on East
Timor (APCET) and Alternative ASEAN (ALTSEAN), a group mobilising international
opinion against the regime in Burma, as well as anti-logging protests by Thai
NGOs, exemplify such types of civil society regionalism.
NGO campaigns in the area of human rights and sustainable development have
increasingly been pursued at a regional level. Forum-Asia, the largest and most
prominent transnational NGO in Southeast Asia seeks to ‘facilitate collaboration
among human rights organizations in the region so as to develop a regional
response on issues of common concern in the region’ (Forum Asia, nd). The
Manila People’s Forum on APEC, created as a parallel grouping to challenge the
Manila APEC Summit in 1996, described itself as a ‘dynamic consultative process
aimed at … formulating a people’s response to APEC and coming up with a
regional strategy of equitable and sustainable development’ (Manila People’s
Forum on APEC, 1996).
Forum Asia’s activities include monitoring and reporting on human rights
violations, conducting human rights educational activities, and organising fact-
finding missions and trial observations (Forum Asia, 2000, 2001). The Bangkok-
based Focus on the Global South, along with the Malaysia-based Third World
Network, has been at the forefront of campaigns to create greater awareness of
the dangers of globalisation and has organised protests against the exploitation of
labour and the environment by multinationals. The environment has also become
another key issue for mobilising social movements, especially in the wake of
massive forest fires in Indonesia in 1997, which led to widespread ecological and
economic damage. Southeast Asian NGOs have also called for alternative
approaches to national security that emphasise the security of people over that of
states and regimes (Forum Asia, 1997). Major NGOs with a regional focus are
presented in Table 1.
Several developments have helped to promote a more co-operative relationship
between official and civil society regionalism in Southeast Asia. New trans-
national challenges, such as the environment and refugees, have led to a greater
appreciation of the role of NGOs, which have traditionally been key players both
in terms of knowledge possession, and of their pursuit of causes and campaigns
to highlight civil society demands which may run counter to state policy.
Regional and international co-operation among NGOs is a way of overcoming the
constraints imposed by limited domestic resources and support, especially in
cases where the home governments remain intolerant of NGO activism (Personal
interview, Forum Asia, 21 June 2002). Political openness in Thailand and now
Indonesia has involved the empowerment of NGOs with a regional and trans-
national agenda. Greater external support for Asian NGOs, induced by post-cold
war policy initiatives towards human rights promotion and sustainable develop-
ment, has helped the regional NGO movement. This is now supplemented by the
call for ‘human security’ espoused both by Western countries and by Japan. At
the root of the human security concept is the recognition of threats to the safety
and dignity of the individual (Acharya & Acharya, 2000). The attendant shift
from state or regime security provides a conceptual justification for the
closer involvement of civil society and social movements in forms of regional co-
operation that had traditionally been the exclusive preserve of governments.
384
DEMOCRATISATION AND THE PROSPECTS FOR PARTICIPATORY REGIONALISM
385
T
ABLE
1
Selected Southeast Asian
NGO
s with a regional focus
Name of
NGO
Head office Main issue areas
Focus on the Global South Bangkok Campaign against neoliberal
globalisation
Asian Forum for Human Rights Thailand Promote democracy, human rights
and Development (Forum Asia) and a regional response
ALTSEAN
(Alternative
ASEAN
) Bangkok Human rights and democracy in
Burma
Asia Pacific Conference in Sittings varied Human rights and self-
East Timor (
APCET
) determination in East Timor
Third World Network Penang (Malaysia) Campaign against neoliberal
globalisation; human rights (social
and economic rights)
Towards Ecological Recovery and Thailand Environmental protection issues
Regional Alliance (
TERRA
) in Burma, Cambodia, Laos,
Thailand and Vietnam
Committee for Asian Women Bangkok Women’s issues, especially labour
Via Campesina (South East Asia) Bangkok (?) C/o Peasants, farmers
Assembly of Poor
Coalition Against Trafficking in Philippines Women’s rights (anti-prostitution
women in Asia-Pacific and trafficking)
(
CATW
-Asia-Pacific)
Asian Cultural Forum on Thailand Human rights (culture taken into
Development (
ACFOD
) account)
Child Workers in Asia (
CWA
) Thailand Children rights (especially in work)
End Child Prostitution, Thailand Children rights (anti-child
Child Pornography Trafficking pornography)
of Children for Sexual Purposes
(
ECPAT
International )
Global Alliance Against Traffic Thailand Women’s rights (especially
in Women (
GAATW
) trafficking in women)
Asian Indigenous Peoples’ Pact Thailand Indigenous people rights
(
AIPP
)
Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Thailand Women’s rights
Law and Development (
APWLD
)
Asian Coalition for Housing Rights Thailand Housing rights
(
ACHR
)
Asian Regional Resource Center for Thailand Human rights education
Human Rights Education (
ARRC
)
Coalition Against Trafficking in Philippines Women’s rights (anti-prostitution
Women in Asia-Pacific and trafficking)
(
CATW
-Asia-Pacific)
International Young Christian Philippines Human rights education
Students (
IYCS
)
Source: Personal Interviews with
NGO
officials, Bangkok, January 2001 and June 2002;
Directory of Asia and the Pacific Organizations Related to Human Rights Education Work
(1999).
AMITAV ACHARYA
Despite their continuing suspicion of governments, some NGOs have been
amenable to working with them. Such co-operation is often issue-specific,
conditional and context-dependent; for example, Forum Asia has been willing to
work with governments on women’s rights, but not on Burma (Personal
interview, Forum Asia, 21 June 2002). Some NGOs resort to direct action and
protest only if access to the state is unavailable. They are more willing to work
with democratic governments which offer them such access, such as the Thai
government under Chuan Leekpai during 1997–2001 (Personal interview, Forum
Asia, 25 June 2001). For their part, some ASEAN government leaders have
increasingly acknowledged the need to engage domestic and regional civil
society. Initial efforts at mutual accommodation have led to the holding of the
first ‘ASEAN People’s Assembly’ in November 2000 in Indonesia, immediately
following an ASEAN Summit in Singapore. Organised by a group Southeast Asian
think-tanks, the People’s Assembly is designated as a Track-III mechanism
because it brings together government officials (both serving and retired), Track-
II groups (mainly government-supported think-tanks) and NGOs. If the Assembly
is any indication, a Track-III mechanism in Southeast Asia could become a useful
vehicle for a more participatory form of regionalism by providing an arena for
debates and discussions between states and citizens about subjects over which
governments have thus far exercised strict control. These issues range from
poverty reduction to the relevance of ASEAN in dealing with East Timor and
Burma.6The principle of ‘open economies, open societies’ debated at the
inaugural People’s Assembly, for example, illustrates one approach to a possible
common ground between the NGO communities who oppose economic globalisa-
tion, while demanding political openness, and regional governments who have
thus far advocated open economies but not open societies. Track-III processes
also have a potential to engender domestic and regional support for softer
concepts of sovereignty and to allow more space for dissent and criticism in the
conduct of regional interactions. It is significant that both the official and NGO
participants at the inaugural People’s Assembly seemed to accept more universal
standards of human rights and sovereignty, thereby diluting the strong ‘cultural
relativist’ opposition to these ideas displayed by the region’s elite in the not-too-
distant past.
Pressures toward a participatory regionalism in Southeast Asia reflect several
factors at work, with democratisation being a key force. Indeed, the holding of
the ASEAN People’s Assembly reflects the work of pro-democracy elements
within the ASEAN Track-II elite, despite opposition from the governments of
Burma, Laos and Vietnam. The Track-II grouping is seeking to make itself more
effective by developing a wider social base that includes a moderate section of
the ASEAN community. There is also the suggestion that the Track-III process
reflects a desire on the part of Track-II to ‘co-opt’ elements of the regional civil
society. For the latter, the incentives to participate in a regional Track-III process
include the possibility of securing greater contacts and possibly influence with
the regional governments, with Track-II, with its own close rapport with govern-
ments, serving as a bridge. As one NGO representative put it, initiatives such as
the ASEAN People’s Assembly ‘create space’ for the regional civil society
(Personal interview, Forum Asia, 21 June 2002). In addition, working with
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DEMOCRATISATION AND THE PROSPECTS FOR PARTICIPATORY REGIONALISM
Track-II can mean better access to the latter’s research and other resources,
which NGOs lack. By working with Track-II within a Track-III framework,
regional NGOs can improve their research capacity and policy prescriptions.7
International pressures and incentives have also been at work in the develop-
ment of a more participatory regionalism in Southeast Asia. For one thing, NGOs
have targeted the annual summit meetings of APEC to organise vocal parallel NGO
summits (Manila People’s Forum on APEC, 1996).8Western donors, especially
Canada, provided financial support for the hosting of the ASEAN People’s
Assembly. Some ASEAN member governments for their part have come to the
realisation that making some accommodation towards the NGOs will improve
the political climate for their own interactions with Western countries. This is
especially relevant to ASEAN’s relations with the EU, which had been severely
strained by the issue of Burma’s membership in ASEAN. In this sense at least,
democratisation, and the resulting reshaping of regional institutions, can yield the
benefit of creating a more favourable climate for interactions between ASEAN and
the international community.
Constraints of participatory regionalism
The foregoing section has identified a number of factors which promote the
development of a participatory and non-official regionalism in Southeast Asia.
But it is important to recognise the limits of this development, especially in the
post-11 September regional and global political climate. Three main obstacles to
the further development of participatory regionalism can be identified.
First, ASEAN itself has shown a strong resistance to post-sovereign regional
norms. It shows no explicit commitment to democracy and human rights adopted
by European or Latin American regional institutions. Thailand’s commitment to
human rights and democracy in its regional foreign policy agenda has declined
since the ouster of the Chuan Leekpai government in 2001. Second, the democra-
tisation process in Southeast Asia remains incomplete and uneven, with several
states, such as Burma and Vietnam, remaining firmly under authoritarian rule.
Democratic consolidation in Indonesia faces a number of serious challenges and
constraints. So the prospects for ASEAN as a democratic community remain a far
off possibility. Third, the terrorist attacks on the USA on 11 September 2001 and
in Bali on 12 October 2002 have diminished the space for civil society in the
region. Measures undertaken by regional governments to counter the threat
of terrorism have cast a shadow over civil liberties. Indonesia has enacted new
security laws, and the internal security acts in Singapore and Malaysia now enjoy
the backing of Western countries, including the USA. Homeland security has
assumed priority over human security. Muslim civil society groups have come
under government scrutiny for their alleged links with terrorist networks. ASEAN
governments are developing new forms of internal security co-operation to
counter transborder terrorism. This could lead to a reassertion of Southeast Asia’s
official regionalism at the expense of civil society networks (Acharya, 2002a;
2002b).
387
AMITAV ACHARYA
Conclusion
This article has shown that democratisation in Southeast Asia is reshaping
Southeast Asian regionalism by redefining official attitudes towards state
sovereignty and opening space for the involvement of civil society. Both these
developments are limited; if pushed further, they would pave the way for deeper
regional interaction and problem solving. Newly democratic states have been more
willing to depart from a strict adherence to sovereignty norms than authoritarian
states. This finding from Southeast Asia should be of interest to students of Third
World politics and security. Juridical sovereignty has been a key factor behind
regime security and regional order in the Third World. Few scholars have seriously
considered, let alone investigated, the conditions under which weak states in the
Third World might deliberately seek a dilution of their juridical sovereignty as a
way of enhancing the prospects for regional order. The cases of Thailand and the
Philippines suggest the importance of democratisation as one such condition.
The emergence and role of regional institutions are often the product of
domestic political institutions and structures. ASEAN’s creation was facilitated by
the common shift of its members towards greater authoritarianism and reflected
non-democratic values. But the vulnerability of a closed, highly informal and
patrimonial ASEAN has been clearly demonstrated by recent events. The pressure
is now for ASEAN to move towards a more participatory form of regionalism, one
that takes a less rigid view of non-interference, one that addresses a wider range
of transnational issues, and becomes more responsive to the demands of the civil
society. Democratisation can make an important contribution to the quest
for durable and effective regional institutions. Democratisation enhances the
legitimacy of the regional project by opening the regional public space to civil
society elements and makes it less vulnerable to the personal preferences and
idiosyncratic habits of leaders. It can induce greater respect for the rule of law in
regional governance.
Regionalism in Southeast Asia is confronting new challenges as a result of the
enlargement of ASEAN, the continuing economic and social fallout of the Asian
financial crisis, and the domestic instability of its largest actor, Indonesia.
Moreover, thanks to the entry of new non-democratic members (Burma, Vietnam
and Laos) and the progressive democratisation in three key original member
countries (the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia), the political diversity within
ASEAN has never been greater. This has undermined its unity in responding to the
economic and political challenges facing the region. As ASEAN confronts greater
intra-mural division, adjusting to the pressures of democratisation presents new
opportunities for the organisation to broaden the social bases and political agenda
of ASEAN regionalism, and make it more relevant to the challenges of globalisa-
tion. But the shift to ‘participatory regionalism’ faces a number of challenges,
which, if overcome, can have decisive and long-term implications for regional
order in Southeast Asia.
Notes
This paper revisits an earlier work (Acharya, 1992) in which I examined the linkage between regionalism
and regime security in Southeast Asia. The present paper is an attempt to ascertain how this link has
388
DEMOCRATISATION AND THE PROSPECTS FOR PARTICIPATORY REGIONALISM
evolved and changed in the wake of trends toward democratisation in the region.
1Etel Solingen’s (1999) analysis of regional orders examines how domestic economic liberalisation can
lead to more stable and peaceful regional order, with economic liberalisation linked to the democra-
tisation process. For a more general treatment of the relationship between democratisation and
regionalism, see the Special Issue of Journal of Democracy, 4 (3) 1993; and Farer (1996). On the
relationship between democracy and the emergence of a regional security community in Europe, see
Adler (1998). The absence of such a link in the making of a security community in Southeast Asia is
explored in Acharya (1998). There have been some studies of this relationship with respect to Latin
America. See Munoz (1993), Patomaki (2000) and Petrash (2000).
2The traditional Javanese rural practice of musyawarah and mufakat, on which the ASEAN way is based,
conformed to the patron–client model of leadership as it required the decisive guiding hand of a
village elder who managed the consultation process and defined the consensus. See Pye (1985).
3The term ‘patrimonial regionalism’ is extrapolated here from the Weberian concept of patrimonial
authority or paternalistic authority used by scholars of domestic and comparative politics. Lucian Pye,
for example, lists a number of features of the latter: ‘an overriding concern for unity’, the regime’s
demand for ‘conformity’ for the sake of ‘collective good’, domestic institutions that are ‘adjuncts’ of
governments or are a ‘product of government prodding’, rejection of ‘adversary relations’ in domestic
bargaining (‘The reason why strong … institutions have not emerged under Asian paternalistic
authority is clear: with paternalism, adversary relations are an abomination’), preference for
institutions that are not ‘rigorously codified’, but which are ‘pliable … [and] can be bent to the
convenience of the power holders’, and the overall ‘weakness of institutional constraints’ on political
authority (Pye, 1985: 329–331). Many of these features can be applied to the regional level to
examine the nature of ASEAN and the ASEAN way. It should be emphasised, however, that initially these
features were credited with making ASEAN flexible and relatively effective in reducing and managing
inter-state conflicts. Peter Katzenstein (1997) has drawn a link between the non-Weberian
(non legal–rational) nature of domestic political structures in Asia and the informal and under-
institutionalised form of its regional institutions, especially ASEAN. For other discussions of
‘patrimonial authority’ in domestic politics, see Rudolph & Rudolph (1979); and Theobald (1982).
4This included S Rajaratnam, Singapore’s retired foreign minister and a founder of ASEAN. See
Acharya (1993).
5The link between Thai democratisation and its concept of flexible engagement was drawn explicitly
by Surin in the following words: ‘Our commitment to freedom and democracy underlies Thailand’s
“flexible engagement” initiative … In proposing this free, open and intensified interaction among the
ASEAN member countries, Thailand hopes to prepare ASEAN to meet the challenges of globalisation that
are transforming the international environment into a “world without borders”’ (Pitsuwan, 1998).
6The topics at the ASEAN People’s Assembly included plenary sessions on: Setting ASEAN’s Agenda:
The Role of the People; Towards Open Societies in ASEAN: The Issues; ASEAN and Regional
Community Building; and Reflections on ASEAN. There were panel discussions on: Critical
Assessment of the ASEAN 2020 Vision; Globalisation and Human Security; The Power of Women and
Their Empowerment; The Media: Informer, Educator and Reformer?; Towards a Regional Human
Rights Mechanism; The Role of Civil Society in Good Governance; Poverty in ASEAN: What More to
be Done?; Limits and Opportunities of Resources and Environmental Management; Enhanced
Interaction: Case Studies of Myanmar and East Timor; and Towards a Revolution in ASEAN’s
Education Systems.
7For these and other insights into the ASEAN People’s Assembly, I am grateful to Paul Evans and Pierre
Lizee, two Canadian scholars who participated in the meeting.
8The Manila People’s Forum on APEC, attended by 400–500 delegates, was a direct successor to the
Kyoto NGO Forum in November 1995 (120 delegates) and the Jakarta NGO Conference, November
1994 (a handful of delegates).
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