ASEAN Regional Governance and Security Dynamics

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has evolved from a modest economic grouping into a multifaceted regional organisation tasked with managing both traditional and non‐traditional security challenges. Its hallmark principles of non‐interference, consensus decision‐making and centrality in Asia‐Pacific multilateralism have underpinned efforts to address territorial disputes, transboundary threats and emerging risks such as climate change, pandemics and cybersecurity. While the “ASEAN Way” has fostered stability and dialogue, it has also constrained more robust collective action. In response to great‐power competition and intensifying regional interdependence, ASEAN member states have sought to strengthen institutional mechanisms—ranging from the ASEAN Regional Forum to code‐setting initiatives on maritime conduct—and to integrate non‐state actors into security networks. The result is a complex governance landscape in which formal bodies, sectoral platforms and transnational networks interact to produce adaptive, if often incremental, policy outcomes with global significance.

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ASEAN Regional Governance and Security Dynamics publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in asean regional governance and security dynamics across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

ASEAN Way: A diplomatic norm emphasising informal consultation, non‐interference and consensus in decision‐making among member states.

Consensus decision‐making: A process by which all members must agree on collective actions, often leading to the lowest common denominator in policy outcomes.

Non‐traditional security: Security issues beyond military threats, including climate change, public health, cyber risks and transnational crime.

Regional centrality: ASEAN’s role as the hub of multilateral cooperation in the Asia‐Pacific, which external powers seek to engage through its institutions and frameworks.

Transnational governance: Collaborative arrangements in which non‐state actors, networks and private entities establish norms and standards that cross national borders.

References

1. ASEAN’s climate change mitigation and adaptation measures: abandoning stagnant policy responses. Frontiers in Climate (2024).
2. Diagnosing Complex Organisations with Diverse Cultures—Part 2: Application to ASEAN. Systems (2024).
3. Who Governs and How? Non-State Actors and Transnational Governance in Southeast Asia. Journal of Contemporary Asia (2017).