Theorizing Southeast Asian Relations: Emerging Debates

The recent proliferation of theories of international relations has transformed analyses of Southeast Asia’s international affairs. A new generation of scholars has promoted a lively and illuminating debate which has seen the traditional realist/ neorealist approach, which continues to hold centre stage, challenged by constructivist analyses. In turn, constructivists have found themselves under fire from an array of competing approaches. This collection engages this emerging debate. It underscores the point that Southeast Asia is now an important site for applying new theories of international relations. It also demonstrates that theoretical frameworks originally developed in North America and Europe have to be adapted to the specific circumstances found in places like Southeast Asia and that this process can enrich theory building. The chapters in this book focus on the realist/neorealist, constructivist, English School and critical approaches. The resulting debate helps to shed light on ways of analysing Southeast Asian relations as well as on the evolution of these key theoretical frameworks.
This book was published as a special issue of The Pacific Review.

Amitav Acharya is Professor of Global Governance, University of Bristol, UK.
Richard Stubbs is Professor of Political Science, McMaster University, Canada.

1. Theorizing Southeast Asian Relations: An Introduction Amitav Acharya and Richard Stubbs 2. Is ASEAN Powerful? Neo-realist versus Constructivist Approaches to Power in Southeast Asia Sarah Eaton and Richard Stubbs 3. Who’s Socializing Whom? Complex Engagement in Sino-ASEAN Relations Alice D. Ba 4. Establishment of the ASEAN Regional Forum: Constructing a ‘Talking Shop' or a 'Norm Brewery’? Hiro Katsumata 5. The English School and ASEAN Shaun Narine 6. Neither Skepticism nor Romanticism: The ASEAN Regional Forum as a Solution for the Asia-Pacific Assurance Game Tsuyoshi Kawasaki 7. Rescuing Constructivism from the Constructivists: A Critical Reading of Constructivist Interventions in Southeast Asian Security See Seng Tan