ASEAN's diplomatic and security culture: a constructivist assessment

In the wake of the Asian financial crisis and the subsequent violence that built up and then tore apart East Timor in 1999, serious criticisms were levelled at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its diplomatic and security culture. This article examines to what extent members of ASEAN – after the Hanoi Summit in 1998 until mid2001 – collectively embraced new understandings in relation to norms associated with the ‘ASEAN way’. This question is explored with respect to four initiatives: the initiation of the retreat of ASEAN foreign ministers, the participation of ASEAN members in United Nations missions in East Timor, the adoption of the ASEAN Troika concept, and the passing of rules of procedure of the ASEAN High Council. It is argued that due to concerns about ASEAN's image and reputation, some of the shared understandings intrinsic to ASEAN's longstanding diplomatic and security culture have been relaxed, particularly the principle of noninterference. While this development reaffirms the value of constructivist theorizing in international relations, the article also demonstrates that the aforementioned initiatives and agreements do not yet amount to a radical change in ASEAN's diplomatic and security culture. The main reason for this is that norms associated with the ‘ASEAN way’ are still perceived to serve the important and necessary function of helping to mediate estrangement and insecurity among ASEAN leaderships, as well as limiting interference by nonASEAN states.