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Introduction
- ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute
- Chapter
- Additional Information
By: ROS Size: 7.5" x 10.25" J/No: 03-14474 Fonts: New Baskerville Introduction 137 INTRODUCTION Sharon Siddique From its inception, social development has always been a feature of the ASEAN agenda. ASEAN’s social development programmes have covered such areas as health, women, children and youth, and education. Through the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, the programmes were managed by the ASEAN Committee on Social Development (COSD). COSD activities were perceived mainly as enabling programmes, supporting ASEAN member states’ rapid economic transformation, and promoting the political and social stability necessary for regional development. In the aftermath of the Asian economic crisis of the late 1990s, social development was given added priority. This new status was reflected in a significant structural change within the ASEAN Secretariat. In July 2001, COSD was dissolved and replaced by the Senior Officials Meeting on Social Welfare and Development (SOMSWD). The SOMSWD is mandated to cover social welfare, children, population, and family matters. Former COSD subsidiary bodies on labour, youth, and health development have been elevated to Senior Officials Meetings, each reporting to their respective ministers. New ASEAN bodies on education, women, and disaster management have also been formed. The critical question is, does this represent the beginning of a shift away from a predominant state-centred approach to social development, to a more peoplecentred approach? Three critical factors have affected this recent evolution. First, the understanding that the process of globalization is complex and multi-faceted. Second, the end of the bipolar world, with the tensions inherent in the emergence of one dominant socio-political paradigm. Third, the realization that profound impact of the information technology revolution must be carefully managed. The 1997 Asian economic crisis brought home the fact that globalization also has its negative side, particularly when managing such complex processes as manpower training, migration, and information technology. And, most importantly, these issues are transnational — they impact on everyone, everywhere. Thus the globalization process emphasizes the awareness that nation-state borders are becoming more porous, and that these larger forces impact on people across these borders. Globalization can be seen in increased migration — both legal and illegal, within member states, among ASEAN member 028 AR Section III 22/9/03, 12:44 PM 137 By: ROS Size: 7.5" x 10.25" J/No: 03-14474 Fonts: New Baskerville 138 Introduction states, and between ASEAN member states and both the developed and developing worlds. It is the scale of migration that is new. Cumulatively, it has accelerated the need to view issues as both transnational and people-oriented. The process of globalization has also called into question the dominant development paradigms of the 1970s and 1980s, in which “development” was perceived as led by economics, with social, political, and security models as supportive or disruptive of the process. Paradoxically, with the end of the Cold War, security issues appear to have gained in prominence. The concept of human security thrusts social development squarely into the centre stage of state-driven security concerns. This issue is dealt with in Section V. From the development perspective, the major issue to have emerged in the debate about human security is the applicability of a universal definition of human rights. This is because in the unipolar world of the early twenty-first century, the dominant development paradigm is unquestionably that of the West (and in particular, the United States). Concepts of democratization and “basic human rights” are powerfully influenced by Western interpretations. Who determines social development policies? What is the relationship between the enforcement of universal human rights and a communitarian, state-centric model of non-interference? In Southeast Asia, there is a general acknowledgement that a U.S. presence is necessary for regional stability. However, there is also an acceptance that basic human rights should be viewed contextually, in terms of Asian, or Southeast Asian cultural worlds. For ASEAN, human rights issues were highlighted during the expansion process, when Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and particularly Myanmar, became full ASEAN members. The issue of human rights also links directly into concepts of human resource development. Commonly in Muslim societies, for example, there is much debate on the rights of women in a society, the organization of family life, and social (and workplace) interaction. Even though the arena has shifted from development to security, the concept of “people power” as the policy driver remains intertwined with social agendas. This shift began with the proliferation and co-optation of Track Two organizations into the ASEAN decision-making process...