The association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is regarded by many as one of the most successful examples of regional co-operation in the developing world. In the Post-Cold War era, however, ASEAN faces serious challenges, not least from an expanded membership and rising power of China. This book examines whether ASEAN can cope with these challenges and contribute to peaceful change in Southeast Asia, or whether it will crumble under the weight of its burden, sparking a new spiral of regional conflict.

Constructing a Security Community in Southeast Asia offers the first serious investigation into the prospects for a security community outside the Euro-Atlantic region. It examines several key issues which will determine the future stability of the Southeast Asian and Asia Pacific region, including :

- The effect of expansion on ASEAN's intramural solidarity
- Whether the ASEAN model of conflict management can be applied to the wider Asia Pacific region
- The threat posed by territorial disputes in the South China Sea
- Domestic instability in Burma and Cambodia
- The impact of military acquisitions on intra-regional relations.

The book contains the most comprehensive and critical account available of the evolution of ASEAN's norms and the viability of the ASEAN Way of conflict management. It is an invaluable resource for students of scholars of Asian Studies and International Politics.

Contents: List of illustrations. Series editor's preface. Acknowledgements. Map of Southeast Asia. The evolution of ASEAN- Ten : a chronology. Introduction : Security communities in ASEAN in theoretical perspective Why ASEAN ? 1 Constructing security communities Defining security communities, socialisation, norms and identity, The evolution and decline of security communities, Framework of the book 2 The evolution of ASEAN norms and the emergence of the 'ASEAN Way' Non-use of force and pacific settlement of disputes, Regional autonomy or 'regional solutions for regional problems', The doctrine of non-interference, No military pacts and preference for bilateral defence cooperation, ASEAN's socia-cultural norms: the ASEAN Way' in historical perspective, Norms and identity in ASEAN's evolution 3 ASEAN and the Cambodia conflict: a regional solution to a regional problem? ASEAN's normative stakes in the Third Indochina war, Regional autonomy versus dependence on outside powers, ASEAN and the Cambodia endgame, Norms, identity and ASEAN in the Cambodia conflict 4 Extending ASEN norms : benefits and burdens of ASEAN - 10 The process of regional accommodation : Vietnam, Testing non-interference: 'constructing engagement' with the Myanmar (Burma), 1992 - 1997, Cambodia 1997 - 1999: limits to non-interference ? The impact of expansion on ASEAN's norms and identity 5 Managing intraregional relations Intra-regional relations Intra-regional conflicts and conflict management, The spratly Islands dispute, An arms race?, Enhancing economic independence, ASEAN as a 'defence community', Sovereignty, non-interference and regional problem solving 6 ASEAN and Asia Pacific security : limits of the ASEAN Way? Rethinking autonomy as a regional norm, The ARF and the ASEAN Way, The burdens and benefits of multilateralism, Conclusion Conclusion : ASEAN as a pluralistic security community : ascendant or decadent? The effects of ASEAN's norms, Prospects for ASEAN.