In order to clearly grasp the characteristics of ASEAN, it is important to understand ASEAN’s decision-making structure and practices. ASEAN takes consultation and consensus as the main principles in decision-making and also utilizes various decision-making methods. This study aims to provide a clear and comprehensive description of ASEAN’s decision-making features by examining development of ASEAN’s organizational structure and by studying its decision-making practice in terms of principles, cultural backgrounds, formal characteristics, and informal yet customary practices. In addition, it analyzes actual cases of ASEAN’s important decisions, and discusses the factors regarding changes in ASEAN decision-making. This paper shows that ‘consensus through consultation’, perhaps the most significant element in ASEAN decision-making, has been faced with challenge related to ‘transformation’ and ‘succession’, due to the changes in domestic and international circumstances.
Chapter 2 describes ASEAN’s decision-making structure in terms of changes in environment and its organs. ASEAN has been trying to alter its structure in response to changing circumstances. At the beginning, it focused on security cooperation and close relationships among the member states. In the 1980s, as changes occurred in both the security and economic environments, ASEAN expanded the scope of cooperation and reorganized its structure. Since the late 1990s, it has pursued internal intensification and external expansion. The membership of ASEAN was expanded to include Vietnam in 1995, Lao PDR and Myanmar in 1997, and Cambodia in 1999. After increasing its membership to 10 countries, ASEAN considered various measures to strengthen internal unity and cooperation. To expand externally in response to the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, ASEAN pursued ‘ASEAN+3’ which includes Korea, China, and Japan.