The ‘ASEANization’ of non-ASEAN stakeholders in regional climate change cooperation

Abstract

This article examines the inward–out influence from Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN) to extra-regionally based actors, here defined as non-ASEAN stakeholders, in regional cooperation on climate change. The case study on the ASEAN Multi-Sectoral Framework on Climate Change (AFCC) indicates that non-ASEAN stakeholders underwent ‘ASEANization’ when adapting their rhetoric and practices in line with regional normative contexts and interests. In the forestry sector of AFCC where power asymmetry favored non-ASEAN actors, a relatively low level of ASEANization occurred as non-ASEAN stakeholders glossed over complex issues and constructed coherence between local and outside agendas. In the agricultural sector where power asymmetry was not as prevalent, a higher level of ASEANization unfolded where non-ASEAN stakeholders became more flexible on mitigation agendas, given strong regional resistance to go beyond adaptation. Moreover, inward–out influence existed in both sectors as long-term socialization led to coordination and adjustments of expectations and practices concerning cooperation efforts on both sides.