A People-Oriented ASEAN: A Door Ajar or Closed for Civil Society Organizations?

ASEAN has proclaimed the rhetoric of becoming “people-oriented” in a number of documents over recent years and this phrase also appears in the Association’s new Charter. The prospect that ASEAN is moving away from being state-centric and elite-driven to one that is “people-empowering” has brought ASEAN onto the radar screens of civil society organizations (CSOs). These CSOs, encouraged by ASEAN reaching out to engage with them in its Socio-Cultural Community Plan of Action, have responded enthusiastically to this rhetoric and since 2005 there have been a plethora of ASEAN civil society conferences. Despite this the ASEAN Charter has not been well received by CSOs; indeed they are aiming to adopt an alternative (an ASEAN Peoples’ Charter). This article examines why CSOs are disappointed with the Charter and what ASEAN means by “people-oriented”