The 2nd ASEAN Reader

Preface

By: ROS Size: 7.5" x 10.25" J/No: 03-14474 Fonts: New Baskerville PREFACE The Second ASEAN Reader has been designed to be either a stand-alone volume, or a companion volume to the (first) ASEAN Reader, published by ISEAS in 1992. The first volume contained excerpts from ASEAN-related scholarly publications, from the early days of regionalism up to the 1992 ASEAN Summit. The Second ASEAN Reader retains roughly ten per cent of the excerpts published in the first volume, but focuses on a selection of excerpts from scholarly writings published since the early 1990s. The present volume thus concentrates on documenting events and issues from 1990 to 2003. This timeframe can certainly be justified in terms of internal ASEAN developments — such as the expansion of ASEAN’s membership; the elaboration of an ASEAN Vision 2020; the implementation of AFTA; the founding of ARF; and the increased frequency of ASEAN formal and informal summits to name but a few. The regional and global economic, political, and security environments have also changed dramatically: the Soviet Union is no more; China has emerged as a global player; Japan has continued to struggle to overcome its economic and political malaise; and there have been fundamental shifts in U.S. foreign policy following September 11. In the region, the 1997 economic crisis has pushed ASEAN to rethink economic development models in the rapidly globalizing economic and security environments. Certainly the last decade has seen a flourishing of scholarly interest in things ASEAN, in the fields of international relations, economics, strategic and security studies, socio-cultural and religious studies, and last but not least, history. The excerpts in this volume thus are but a small sample of this vast literature. Selections were made to achieve some kind of balance of views across disciplines, and across countries, with authors from ASEAN countries, as well as the United States, Japan, China, India, Australia, Germany, and Britain. Although we would like to thank our colleagues for their assistance in introducing us to relevant materials, the final choice of selections was ours. The Reader is divided into eight sections, each highlighting an area that has been a concentration of scholarly interest. We assumed that this interest served, in a general sense, as an index of relevance in terms of issues, events, and activities, which have been pivotal to ASEAN’s evolution. Section I provides introductory background essays on the Southeast Asian region, during 000 AR prelims 22/9/03, 11:57 AM 13 By: ROS Size: 7.5" x 10.25" J/No: 03-14474 Fonts: New Baskerville both pre- and post-ASEAN periods. Essays in Section II develop perspectives on one of the most significant processes of the last decade — ASEAN’s expansion from ASEAN-6 to ASEAN-10 — and the issues which this process raises both internally and with reference to external relations. Section III is devoted to the broad theme of social development, which includes such diverse topics as the impact of Islamic resurgence, information technology, and migration. Section IV discusses various dimensions of economic development in ASEAN, including AFTA, and ASEAN’s trading partners, and the impact and aftermath of the 1997 Asian financial crisis. Section V focuses on the evolving security dynamics of the region. Power realignments in the 1990s have prompted the redefinition of traditional security arrangements, while the enlarged scope of security to include human security has certainly impacted on regional conceptualizations. Sections VI and VII are devoted to portraying ASEAN’s relations with multilateral agencies, and with individual nation-states, respectively. The two sections illustrate the condition of the early twenty-first century, where nationstates and multilateral agencies both contribute to evolving power relations. Finally, in Section VIII, some future pathways are illuminated. The timetable for the realization of ASEAN’s Vision 2020 is being set. We would like to thank ISEAS Director, Mr K. Kesavapany, for his active interest in and support for the project. We would also like to thank ISEAS librarian, Ms Ch’ng Kim See, and staff for their valuable assistance. Our grateful thanks also to our “fellow collaborators”, the staff of the ISEAS Publications Unit: Mrs Triena Ong, Managing Editor, for her superb organizational skills; Mrs Celina Kiong, for her tenacity in tracking down copyright holders and authors, and also for collecting authors’ biodata; and finally, to Production Editor, Ms Rahilah Yusuf. She kept us on schedule, organized the bibliography, the documentation and photo sections, and managed the whole complex production process. However...