Engaging Civil Society and Regulating Dissent

Abstract

A decade and a half ago, amid the upheaval of the regional financial crisis, ASEAN embarked on an ambitious reform program. Alongside renewed efforts to intensify economic integration, states committed to developing more inclusive political structures. Rhetoric of “community-building,” “participation” and a “people-oriented” ASEAN was promoted as part of an attempt to widen policymaking to include the views of Southeast Asian CSOs. However, when ASEAN eventually established participatory processes in the mid-2000s to accompany this rhetoric, these measures fell far short of the expectations of CSOs. Additionally, CSOs that pursued their claims for reform outside of ASEAN-established channels have had little success in influencing ASEAN’s regional project. Irrespective of whether CSOs act independently or pursue their agendas through channels established by ASEAN, they are largely ineffectual in shaping ASEAN policy.