ABSTRACT
This chapter investigates how two relevant Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members, Indonesia and the Philippines, have institutionalised migrant workers' protection domestically, as well as how they have affected progress towards regional policy-making. It utilises a modified version of the two-level games approach, while also taking advantage of the development of sociological institutionalism to address the research question. The chapter presents an analytical framework that is not only applicable for this specific research, but may also lead to the development of frameworks and approaches on other foreign policy analyses. It reveals that processes of institutionalisation at the domestic level of relevant member countries are not yet strong enough to stand up to unsupportive ideas at the regional level in negotiations that would enable the creation of an ASEAN-level migrant worker protection policy. The chapter draws attention to potential problems and issues in policy formulation for migrant workers' protection in the region.
