This book develops a constructivist and sociologically informed International Relations (IR) perspective, with the aim of contributing to understandings of how a regional human rights body can emerge within an environment where global norms on human rights are not widely endorsed. Specifically, it examines the role of a group of key individuals, conceptualised here as āNorm Interpreters ā, in the process. The purpose of this group is to āinterpretā the value and application of global norms on human rights in such a way that they come to be accepted in the region, as proved by the establishment of the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR), a Southeast Asian regional human rights body inaugurated in Bangkok in October 2009. The research presented in this book covers the period from the post-1993 Joint CommuniquĆ© of the 26th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM),1 up to the adoption of the AICHR Terms of Reference (ToR); however, emphasis was particularly given to the period of the ToR drafting process, existing from July 2008 to February 2009. This time frame started when ASEAN first agreed to create a regional human rights body and decided to establish the HLP to draft the ToR for the body (July 2008). It ends when the ASEAN Foreign Ministers endorsed the proposed ToR during the 42nd ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in Thailand (27th February 2009). The ToR, however, remained a confidential document until July 2009, when it was adopted during the ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting in Phuket. At this point, it was made public. AICHR itself was inaugurated in October of 2009 during the ASEAN Summit in Bangkok.
This topic enables me to develop a novel take on Southeast Asian regionalism, which is often missing from studies on the emergence of ASEAN. First, this research draws attention to the role of a group of key individualsāthe Norm Interpreters āwho are not usually acknowledged in discussions of the politics of regional institution building in ASEAN (in both the constructivist and the more realist-oriented literatures that dominate the field). Norm Interpreters in this research consist of three subgroups; referred to in this book as the Political Community, the Policy Network, and the Advocacy Coalition. They serve as interlocutors between global norms (in this case, global human rights norms embedded in the International Bill of Human Rights, or the Bill) and local states and societies level priorities (the local norms, best understood as the āASEAN Wayā and āAsian Valuesā). They consist mainly of key diplomatic actors, members of think tanks, and civil society leaders. As a group, they include those who occupy elite positions within the state (the policymakers), alongside those more embedded in activist struggles and agendas. It is argued that the unique dynamics of their social practices (ascertained by tracing interactions between the three subgroups) played a substantial, yet academically unexplored, role in the process through which AICHR was established.
Norm Interpreter, as a category, is distinct from the various other labels found in the literature for understanding key norm-promoting actors, such as the Norm Entrepreneur and the Norm Protagonist . It is also distinct from other existing categories explaining processes of norm translation, such as processes associated with Norm Propagation and Norm Subsidiarity (discussed in Chapter 3). This distinction is mainly because, as a new concept, Norm Interpreters is constructed inductively, based on empirical research of how Southeast Asian actors regionalise the global human rights normsāespecially while under the strong influence and constraints of local norms. Compared to other concepts, the Norm Interpreters then represents the complicatedness of the actual norm interpretation processes (discussed in depth within the empirical Chapters 4, 5, and 6). It involves multiple actors with different professional backgrounds, characters, and interests. It includes different approaches that are translated into different action strategies. It deals with multiple, influential factors, such as (but not limited to) ASEANās policymaking mechanisms and member-statesā domestic politics. The dynamic is conceptualised here as the āBowtie Model of Southeast Asian Norm Interpretationā (elaborated on in Chapter 3).
Second, examining the behaviour of these Norm Interpreters enables a shift in focusāaway from the macro and system-level approach commonly taken in the wider literature to explain processes of regionalism, and towards a more micro approach, which focusses on the actions and interactions among actors during the process. Third, a focus on the āhowā behind the establishment process of AICHR allows me to go beyond the āwhatā approach in the study of Southeast Asian regionalism. As such, I seek to broaden the range of factors usually taken into account within dominant explanations of policymaking in the region. This means that I focus my attention not only on the traditionally important factors of national political interests, but, more crucially, also on the normative or immaterial factors, such as the incompatibility between local normsā and global normsā inherent values. This research identifies the normative factors as a key challenge to the institutionalisation process of AICHR. The Norm Interpreters ā role is to acknowledge this incompatibility and then to bridge crucial points across this gap, so that global norms on human rights can begin (and continue) to be accepted in the regionādespite their initial incompatibility with local norms. In this sense, the formation of AICHR reflects the successes of Norm Interpreters in pursuing this ambition.
This book presents how Norm Interpreters accomplish their goals, which further determines the direction of contemporary ASEAN regionalism (discussed further in the following subchapter). Observing the AICHR establishment process from the side-lines, allowed me to scrutinise this topic in more detail. My research suggests that, throughout the process, the dynamics of interactor relations in the region are more complex than what have been presented in academic literature so far.
This book thus questions certain core ideas related to traditional approaches in Southeast Asian regionalism, including state-centrism, functionalism, and materialism, as well as the commonly accepted notion of multitrack diplomacy. It challenges the idea of state-centrism by showing that, in the case of AICHRās establishment, first, member-states are not the only actors involved in the regional policymaking processes. Second, in some cases, statesā position towards issues and their decision of how to react (such as developing unique policies) is significantly influenced by the perspective of non-state actors on those issues. Third, the top-down official mechanism policymaking processes are not immune from the influence of the bottom-up and horizontal informal dialogue mechanisms, which channel direct/indirect pressures and lobbyist/activists initiatives from non-state actors. Fourth, interactor relations between the state and non-state actors in this research shows that state actors are not necessarily the dominant players in the arrangements. In some cases, both parties are equal, while in otherāvery rareācases, non-states actors lead the initiatives and define the result of the negotiations.
It is important to note, however, that by highlighting the significant contributions of non-state actors as āthe initiator of changeā,2 it is not my intention to undermine the role of state actors in the process. Particularly, it is demonstrated that the final content within AICHRās ToR was decided behind closed doors by member-states-only forums (discussed further in Chapter 6 on the Political Community).
By taking into account what are understood as the immaterial elements of interactor relations between subgroups of Norm Interpreters , in this book I identified a variety of approaches to influence regional policymaking mechanisms . This includes the actorsā professional and/or practical experience, networks, expertise, and negotiation skills. I also apply an inductive approach in examining how these elements contributed to the dynamics of regional policymaking and, as a result, this book engages with a range of policymaking related concepts, such Veto Player Model by Tsebelis (1995, 2002), Policy Change Mod...