FASTLearn Episode 55 Transcript
What are the criticisms towards the ASEAN Way?
The ASEAN Way, particularly its principles of non-intervention and consensus decision-making, has been subjected to controversy as scholars have often referred to it as a stumbling block to meeting the regional organization’s goals.
These principles, as some may say, have rendered the organization ineffective and inefficient in responding to matters and issues that concern ASEAN, and these criticisms are not unfounded.
So to the argument that ASEAN Way is ineffective:
The principle of non-intervention, for example, prevents the regional organization from responding or interfering with member states, even in circumstances when the actions of these members are no longer aligned to the goals and principles of ASEAN.
So for example, ASEAN community building places emphasis on rule of law, democratic principles, and human rights, and not to mention any specific case, but there have been issues of decaying democratic values across ASEAN, and due to the non-intervention principle, ASEAN has had difficulty posturing itself towards becoming more accountability-seeking.
And ASEAN Way is inefficient:
So in circumstances when pressing issues require timely deliberation and response from ASEAN, the lengthy process of dialogue and consultation due to the consensus decision-making principle impede on the region’s ability to release timely, unified, and decisive declarations.
So should the ASEAN Way be revised, given these issues that were mentioned?
So because of these issues, there have actually been demands for the revision of the ASEAN Way to make it more adaptive to the evolving regional and global landscape.
The principle of non-intervention, for example, prevents the regional organization from responding or interfering with member states, even in circumstances when the actions of these members are no longer aligned to goals and principles of ASEAN.
For example, ASEAN community building places emphasis on rule of law, democratic principles, and human rights, and not to mention any specific case, but there have been issues of decaying democratic values across ASEAN, and due to the non-intervention principle, ASEAN has had difficulty posturing itself towards becoming more accountability seeking.
In circumstances when pressing issues require timely deliberation and response from ASEAN, the lengthy process of dialogue and consultation due to the consensus decision making principle impede on the region’s ability to release timely, unified, and decisive declarations.
Because of these issues, there have been demands for the ASEAN Way to be revised to make it more adaptive to the evolving regional and global landscape.
