Transformation of ASEAN's Image in the 1980s: The Cambodian Conflict and the Economic Development of ASEAN Member Countries

Abstract

When we look at way ASEAN is perceived, it is easy to see that the organization has undergone a dramatic change in image over the past few decades of its activity. The aim of this paper is to systematically analyze the dramatic changes that ASEAN's image has undergone, by relying on documented evidence. ASEAN came to be associated with an image of success in the 1980s, due to two main factors. The first was the organization's attempt to resolve the Cambodian dispute as a unified body, and the other was the rapid economic development of ASEAN member countries. However, the process through which ASEAN's image of success was formulated was indeed a complicated one. In fact, the success of the organization's attempts to resolve the Cambodian dispute was limited, and the economic growth of ASEAN countries occurred independently of the organization's activities.