ASEAN and Power in International Relations

This book analyses the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as a powerful actor in International Relations by examining how the ASEAN community has evolved, looking specifically at its relationship with the EU with regards to human rights.

The book adds to important contemporary debates within constructivist theory, shedding light on the need for ''critical'' constructivism that emphasises language and contestation and what that may entail. On an empirical level, it challenges the idea of an ''EU-centrism,'' demonstrating how ASEAN is the major driving force behind its human rights and community aspirations, as well as within the ASEAN-EU relationship. Furthermore, this book engages with the introspection surrounding constructivism by addressing the trouble with ''norms,'' and instead unpacking the relationship between ASEAN and the EU to show language power in play. In particular, the book looks at how language, or rather coercive language, helps us ''see'' contest