ASEAN As a Security Community: Challenges of Conceptualization

ASEAN Political-Security Community (APSC) is the ASEAN’s newest and ambitious initiative aimed at maintaining peace in the region by establishing common norms and standards of good conduct. The launch of the APSC has provoked an intense debate among experts on ASEAN on whether the Association could...

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Main Author: I. A. Nikiforov
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Moscow University Press 2020-11-01
Series:Вестник Московского Университета. Серия XXV: Международные отношения и мировая политика
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Online Access:https://fmp.elpub.ru/jour/article/view/73
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author I. A. Nikiforov
author_facet I. A. Nikiforov
author_sort I. A. Nikiforov
collection DOAJ
description ASEAN Political-Security Community (APSC) is the ASEAN’s newest and ambitious initiative aimed at maintaining peace in the region by establishing common norms and standards of good conduct. The launch of the APSC has provoked an intense debate among experts on ASEAN on whether the Association could be regarded as a security community in the classic theoretical sense. The author examines arguments in the key participants of this debate and presents its own point of view. The paper shows that constructivist scholars led by A. Acharya argue that their interpretation of the classic security community concept is relevant to the situation in the Southeast Asia, which is characterized by a strong sense of regional identity and a constitutive political role of norms. Their opponents represented by realist scholars, such as N. Khoo and M. Leifer, demonstrate the irrelevance of constructivist ideas to the ASEAN realities and emphasize the inability of Southeast Asian states to build a functioning security community. The conclusion is drawn that while both approaches have their own drawbacks, it would be premature to choose one or the other because the establishment of the security community in the ASEAN is an ongoing process, which is still far from complete. Therefore, the most promising and relevant for current political situation in the region is a moderately critical approach that treats ASEAN as a security regime rather than a security community.
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spelling doaj-art-2244f91eb0fb48dbb4968626c90a0fb72025-02-02T11:10:31ZengMoscow University PressВестник Московского Университета. Серия XXV: Международные отношения и мировая политика2076-74042020-11-0110315417472ASEAN As a Security Community: Challenges of ConceptualizationI. A. Nikiforov0Lomonosov Moscow State UniversityASEAN Political-Security Community (APSC) is the ASEAN’s newest and ambitious initiative aimed at maintaining peace in the region by establishing common norms and standards of good conduct. The launch of the APSC has provoked an intense debate among experts on ASEAN on whether the Association could be regarded as a security community in the classic theoretical sense. The author examines arguments in the key participants of this debate and presents its own point of view. The paper shows that constructivist scholars led by A. Acharya argue that their interpretation of the classic security community concept is relevant to the situation in the Southeast Asia, which is characterized by a strong sense of regional identity and a constitutive political role of norms. Their opponents represented by realist scholars, such as N. Khoo and M. Leifer, demonstrate the irrelevance of constructivist ideas to the ASEAN realities and emphasize the inability of Southeast Asian states to build a functioning security community. The conclusion is drawn that while both approaches have their own drawbacks, it would be premature to choose one or the other because the establishment of the security community in the ASEAN is an ongoing process, which is still far from complete. Therefore, the most promising and relevant for current political situation in the region is a moderately critical approach that treats ASEAN as a security regime rather than a security community.https://fmp.elpub.ru/jour/article/view/73aseanasean communityasean political-security communityapscsecurity communityconstructivismrealismsecurity regimenormsidentity
spellingShingle I. A. Nikiforov
ASEAN As a Security Community: Challenges of Conceptualization
Вестник Московского Университета. Серия XXV: Международные отношения и мировая политика
asean
asean community
asean political-security community
apsc
security community
constructivism
realism
security regime
norms
identity
title ASEAN As a Security Community: Challenges of Conceptualization
title_full ASEAN As a Security Community: Challenges of Conceptualization
title_fullStr ASEAN As a Security Community: Challenges of Conceptualization
title_full_unstemmed ASEAN As a Security Community: Challenges of Conceptualization
title_short ASEAN As a Security Community: Challenges of Conceptualization
title_sort asean as a security community challenges of conceptualization
topic asean
asean community
asean political-security community
apsc
security community
constructivism
realism
security regime
norms
identity
url https://fmp.elpub.ru/jour/article/view/73
work_keys_str_mv AT ianikiforov aseanasasecuritycommunitychallengesofconceptualization