Treść książki
Przejdź do opcji czytnikaPrzejdź do nawigacjiPrzejdź do informacjiPrzejdź do stopki
RegionalismintheBalance:ReflectionsonASEANatFiftyfromaLiberalPerspective
15
theeconomicbenefitsofmembership,whileseekingtobuildaregionalidentitythatwill
bolstercitizens’attachmenttoandsupportforASEAN.22
Yetregionalidentitybuildinghasprovenachallenge.IfmanyagreethatASEAN
iselite-driven,thereisacomplementaryassumptionthatASEANbarelytouchesupon
thelivesofordinarycitizens.Thisassumptionisnotbaseless:a2013surveyfoundthree-
quartersofrespondentsacrossASEANcapitalslacked“abasicunderstandingofwhat
ASEANisandwhatitisstrivingtodo”,with85%ofbusinessleadershavingeitherno
orsimplyrudimentaryknowledgeofASEAN.
23
However,therehasbeensomeprogress:
intheAsianBarometerSurvey’s2016report,51%ofrespondentsidentifiedthemselves
as“close”toASEAN.
24
WhileASEANeliteshavethushadsomesuccessontheregional
levelinliftingawarenessacrossthepopulationatlarge,deeperpopularlegitimacyfor
theorganisationremainsaworkinprogress.
Wheredivisionsarestarkerandmostconcerningisbetween,ratherthanwithin,states.
InThailand,wherethegovernment4enthusiasticallypromotedASEAN’astheAEC’s
2015deadlineapproached,therewasreportedlyahighdegreeofanticipationfortheAEC
asawatershedforregionalopennessandgreateropportunities.
25
Conversely,others
throughouttheregionfearsuchopenness.InIndonesia,thisislargelyforeconomic
reasonsasslowingdomesticgrowthengenderspopulist-nationalistsupportforeconomic
protectionisminacompetitiveregionalmarket,exacerbatedbyrumoursofaninflux
offoreignworkersputtingIndonesiansoutofwork,thusdiminishingenthusiasmfor
ASEAN.26
EthnicandreligiousdivisionsalsoremainimportantinnationalpoliticsacrossASEAN
andposechallengestoidentitybuilding.FromJakarta’s2016gubernatorialelectionto
theupcomingMalaysiangeneralelectionsandtheexplosiveRohingyaissueinMyanmar,
suchdivisionsflareupfrequently.
27
SoutheastAsia’sheterogeneity,includingthree
majorreligionsanddozensoflanguages,presentsagreaterobstacletotheconstruction
22
D.T.Fabrian,4CouldtheASEANCommunitybringaboutaSoutheastAsianIdentity?’,YaleJournal
ofInternationalAffairs,28December2016,http://yalejournal.org/article_post/could-the-asean-community-
bring-about-a-southeast-asian-identity/(accessedon27July2017);M.E.Jones,4ForginganASEANIdentity:
TheChallengetoConstructaSharedDestiny’,ContemporarySoutheastAsia,April2004,Vol.26,No.1,
p.141.
23
R.W.Domingo,4LowAwarenessof2015ASEANIntegrationNoted’,PhilippineDailyInquirer,
1April2013,http://business.inquirer.net/114795/low-awareness-of-2015-asean-integration-noted(accessed
on1August2017).
24
TheHabibieCenter,4SoClose,butYetSoFar:PublicPerceptionsofASEAN’,TheHabibieCenter
ASEANStudiesProgramASEANBriefs,August2016,Vol.3,No.6,pp.2-3.
25
I.Balcaite,4“WhenASEANComes”:InsearchofaPeople-CentredASEANEconomicCommunity
inGreaterMekongBorderscapes’,SOJOURN:JournalofSocialIssuesinSoutheastAsia,2016,Vol.31,
No.3,p.881.
26
S.DharmaNegara,4RisingEconomicNationalisminIndonesia:WillThisTimebeDifferent?’,ISEAS
Perspective,October2015,No.59,pp.4,6.
27
D.Singh,N.Saat,M.Cook,T.SiewMun,4SoutheastAsiaOutlook2017’,ISEASPerspective,
3January2017,https://think-asia.org/bitstream/handle/11540/6817/ISEAS_Perspective_2017_1.pdf?se-
quence=1(accessedon25July2017).
