In this presentation, Dr Aarie Glas (Northern Illinois University) explores ASEAN’s response to the 2021 coup in Myanmar. While scholars and practitioners often portray ASEAN as a relatively cohesive community of states united by a long-held and relatively stable set of norms – the “ASEAN way” – this presentation shows that ASEAN’s response to the coup has been driven by internal contestation. In particular, the presentation and the article from which it draws, explores how ASEAN’s response has been shaped by contestation over two competing normative impulses among elites in the organization – around centrality and non-interference. The presentation highlights this tension and explores its development as the organization has struggled to respond to challenges in Myanmar, from the humanitarian disaster after Cyclone Nargis in 2008 to the Rohingya crisis after 2016, to the 2021 coup.
Speaker and Chair Biographies:
Dr Aarie Glas is an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science and Center for Southeast Asian Studies at Northern Illinois University. In Spring and Summer 2025, he is a Visiting Fellow in the Department of Political and Social Sciences at the European University Institute (EUI) and a British Academy Visiting Fellow in the Department of International Relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science. He studies governance and diplomacy in international organizations, particularly in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and works with and writes on interpretive methods and social theory.
Dr Jürgen Haacke is Associate Professor in International Relations at LSE. While his research still lies at the intersection of Foreign Policy Analysis and Security Studies, his predominant regional focus has for long been Southeast Asia.
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