Abstract
This paper outlines the nature and scope of the Association of South East Asian Nations’
(ASEAN) democracy agenda as embodied in the ASEAN Security Community Plan
of Action (ASCPA), and examines the extent to which ASEAN member states will be
able to implement the measures outlined in order to build democracy in the region. It
examines whether there is an opportunity for the EU to play a greater role in providing
assistance to ASEAN; and the areas, within the ASCPA framework, in which the EU
would have a significant impact. How should the EU’s assistance to, and its participation
in, the process of democracy building in South East Asia be formulated, using which
approaches and mechanisms?
ASEAN member states remain diverse in terms of their political characteristics.
Thailand and, to a lesser degree, the Philippines are still struggling to consolidate
democracy. Myanmar is under military rule. Malaysia and Singapore continue to
provide successful examples of soft-authoritarianism. Vietnam and Laos are Leninist
states. Cambodia, which continues to exercise one-man rule, is hardly a democracy and
Brunei Darussalam is a sultanate. Only Indonesia could be considered a more stable
democracy in the region.
The ASEAN Security Community provides a number of limited entry points, through
which the democracy building agenda could be promoted. These could provide an
opportunity and a basis for further democracy building efforts in the region, and for
ASEAN partners, such as the EU, to play a greater role in fostering democracy.
Even though the differences among member states regarding the nature of democracy
serve as a major constraint on the democracy building process, the universal nature of
human rights and good governance could serve as an entry point for such an agenda.
By focusing on the need to cooperate on some aspects of the promotion of human rights
and good governance, ASEAN – or those member states with an interest – could rescue
some of the democracy agenda.
The role of the EU in promoting democracy in the region should be framed in thecontext of both the limitations and the opportunities facing ASEAN in advancing its
own democracy agenda.