ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses the issue of regionalism and regionalization in general terms. It sheds some light on the structural framework for community-building in Southeast Asia. The chapter describes the development of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) over the past fifty years and discusses the organization's achievements. In addition to the strong linkages between the 'new regionalism' debate and discourses in international political economy, social constructivists have also discovered regionalism as a preferred empirical focus. ASEAN has demonstrated its willingness to find regional solutions for regional problems. ASEAN members are trying to achieve far-reaching visions of economic community-building without the necessary modifications to the traditional approach to co-operation. The chapter concludes with a critical evaluation of co-operation in the region based on a discussion of the comparative strengths and weaknesses of neorealism, liberal institutionalism and social constructivism in the analysis of Southeast Asian regionalism.
