The Asia-Pacific Security Lexicon (Upated 2nd Edition)

TRACK THREE

237 TRACK THREE The term suggests a natural link with T racks-One and -Two, but the relationship between them is mor e complex than the terminology implies. Generally speaking, T rack-Three refers to the activities and meetings of gr oups such as non-governmental organizations (NGOs), transnational networks, and advocacy coalitions. It is sometimes called “citizens diplomacy”. While T racks One and Two seek to engage and inform policymakers about specific issues of concern to states, T rack-Three is made up of advocates claiming to r epresent “communities and people who are largely marginalized from the centre of power.”1 These groups seek to “build constituencies … which can question conventional practices and beliefs and present alternatives to official government positions”.2 According to Herman Kraft, their “discussions ar e based on a critical framework with agendas that tend to oppose mainstream government policies.” Consequently, these meetings “are more adversarial than what is usual for a track two forum”.3 The label “Track-Three” is a misnomer, in that most of these groups have only an indirect link to the policy process and some reject outright the notion that they are a “track” in any way linked to state-centred institutional arrangements. As Pierre Lizee has noted, many civil society groups have been “reluctant to involve themselves within structures they perceive to be too close to the 02 A_Pac Security Lexicon 9/28/07, 2:49 PM 237 238 prevailing centres of power”. 4 Some fear that they will be coopted , which will compromise their independence and autonomy . Conversely, some participants in Track Two have also been wary in their approach to Track Three actors. Given that many T rack Three groups advocate causes such as human rights and democratization, their participation in regional security dialogues has often been strongly opposed by non-democratic regimes. Specific examples of T rack Three actors in the Asia-Pacific include the Alternative ASEAN Network on Burma (Alt-SEAN), the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (known as FORUM-ASIA), Focus on the Global South, the Council for Alternative Security in the Asia-Pacific (CASAP), the For um on Alternative Security, the Asia Pacific Coalition for East T imor (APCET), and Peace, Disarmament and Symbiosis in the AsiaPacific (PDSAP).5 The issues tackled by these gr oups typically include socio-economic and gender inequalities, envir onmental degradation, lack of political participation, and democratization. Such groups have often made their presence felt at the “People’s Summits” that parallel of ficial regional gatherings such as AsiaPacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) or Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM).6 For example, the Asia-Europe People’s Forum was established in 1996 alongside the annual T rack One ASEM meeting. According to one regional NGO, it is designed to be “a forum for NGOs and civil society gr oups that ar e non-state and noncorporate ”. It aims to bring “the voice of the civil society in the official Asia Europe Summit, ASEM, and to create alternatives to its neoliberalistic agenda”.7 Track Three groups have also articulated critical positions on regional security. While there is no single line of thought, typically they are opposed to the presence of foreign bases in the region, high levels of military spending, and the acquisition and proliferation of weapons systems, including missile defences.8 However, as Kraft points out, “it is in the area of human rights that track three networks have been most active.” 9 While many Track Three actors are hesitant about engaging Track One or Track Two channels, there have been some attempts to establish mor e formal links between them. One important development has been the cr eation of an ASEAN People’s Assembly (APA), which had its first meeting in November 2000 in Batam. The idea for a People’s Assembly was first raised at the official level during the 1995ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in Brunei when the Thai Foreign Minister proposed a congress of ASEAN peoples and requested that the ASEAN Institutes of Strategic and TRACK THREE 02 A_Pac Security Lexicon 9/28/07, 2:49 PM 238 239 International Studies (ASEAN-ISIS), thr ough ISIS Thailand, investigate the possibilities for or ganizing such a gathering. 10 According to one Singaporean account, the APA is based “on the rationale that community building in ASEAN must include all sectors of society on a step-by-step basis …ASEAN must be made relevant to the...