Multilevel institutional approaches to support deeper integration in ASEAN

Abstract

The Association of Southeast Asan Nations (ASEAN) is a free trade arrangement where members retain discretion over external trade policy applied to non-member states while cooperating on a range of policies with a view to integrating markets for goods and services. This paper discusses institutional mechanisms to foster market integration that are consistent with the revealed preference of ASEAN states for member driven, goal-oriented cooperation. The flexibility associated with the inter-governmental structure of ASEAN provides opportunities for experimentation in responding to regional challenges without delegating sovereignty to common institutions. Leveraging the network nature of ASEAN through adoption of multilevel domain-specific platforms that bring together salient epistemic communities offers a potential path for institutional innovation and support for open plurilateral agreements to pursue shared objectives.