Unpacking the tension between centrality and non-interference in ASEAN’s crisis diplomacy

This presentation explores the response of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) 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.