Review by Choice Review
Ba (Univ. of Delaware) uses constructivist international relations theory in an attempt to explain the "paradox" of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)--why do states with supposedly conflicting national interests participate in a regional organization that in many instances does not seem to deliver concrete benefits to its members? Ba defines cooperation as an exchange of ideas that transforms the social content of relationships rather than as bargaining, and she claims that changes in Southeast Asian states' foreign policies since ASEAN's creation demonstrate an increasingly robust regional identity. According to Ba, ASEAN members have achieved consensus on disparate economic and security concerns because their dialogue made the necessary connections between nationalism and regionalism. She argues that the nonviolent nature of the dialogue in an area of the world formerly prone to conflict is evidence that ASEAN does indeed work. The book contains much description but no predictions. In addition, many of the actions taken by ASEAN states can be explained just as easily with other international relations theories, such as new institutionalism. It may have been in the self-interest of Southeast Asian states to cooperate when responding to threats coming from outside the region. Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate, research, and professional collections. C. Raymond Salve Regina University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
