This book presents a varied and multi-dimensional view of challenges of governance in Southeast Asia and ASEAN through the variety of disciplines and nationalities involved. In light of 50 years of regional collaboration and integration as the member states of ASEAN seek to chart out a future path for the region, this book is dedicated to showcasing different challenges to governance that occur due to internal and external pressures for the various member states. The editors are particularly interested in the multi-level governance challenges on issues of democracy, equity, and sustainability, the adaptation of policies and norms to fit an ASEAN way, and the changing roles of civil society and citizens in this process of seeking a common identity and voice.
The book is divided into four sections. The first section introduces the fundamental political institutional dynamics that are in play within the region and the interplay between regional forces and national norms. Thesecond section tackles the economic and legal discourses that various member states face in relation to external and internal pressures related to international and regional trade and industry. The third section focuses on issues of sustainability and equity resulting from the vast socio-spatial differences in the varied cities and regions of member states. In the final section, the authors discuss dilemmas resulting from economic growth in exploitative industries and the impact that has on the local and regional community through the lenses of inclusivity and justice. Written by a diverse collection of policy makers, researchers, educators and activists from the regions discussed, this book provides an authoritative first-hand analysis of key challenges to governance in Southeast Asia and ASEAN. As such, this volume is an excellent resource for academics, advanced masters and PhD candidates interested in the region, and major Southeast Asian research institutes and centers as well aspolicy makers and influencers at both national and regional levels within the region.
Ronald L. Holzhacker is Professor of Comparative Multilevel Governance and Regional Structure in the Faculty of Spatial Sciences, Department of Planning and the Environment, and the Faculty of Arts, Department of International Relations and International Organization at the University of Groningen, the Netherlands. He is broadly interested in questions of governance, human rights, and the interaction between civil society and institutions in political systems. He has published in journals such as Law & Policy, Comparative European Politics, Journal of European Integration, European Union Politics, Nations and Nationalism, Party Politics, Journal of Legislative Studies, European Journal of Comparative Law and Governance, Contemporary Southeast Asia and the Asia Pacific Journal of Public Administration. He is co-editor of numerous books over the past decade, most recently Sustainable Development Goals in Southeast Asia and ASEAN: National and Regional Approaches, eds. R. Holzhacker and Dafri Agus Salim (Leiden, Boston, Singapore: Brill 2019) and Decentralization and Governance in Indonesia, eds. R. Holzhacker, R. Wittek, and J. Woltjer (New York: Springer 2016).
Wendy Guan Zhen Tan is Associate Professor at the Faculty of Engineering and Business, Department of Civil Engineering, at the Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Norway, and senior researcher at the Land Use Planning Group at Wageningen University and Research, the Netherlands. She is Associate Director of SEA ASEAN, the Groningen Research Centre for Southeast Asia and ASEAN at the University of Groningen. Her research expertise and interest focus on the implementation of land use and transportation integration, mobility issues and institutional perspective in planning processes in Europe, America and Southeast Asia.
