ASEAN establishment in 1967, constructivists argue, cannot be
explained from a realist perspective, in the absence of a common external threat
perception, or from a liberal one, which would assume substantial interdependence
among its members. Neither of these conditions marked the relationship among
ASEAN founding members at its birth. Instead, regionalism in Southeast Asia was a
product of ideational forces, such as shared norms, and socialization in search of a
common identity.