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The Structural Pre-Conditions for the Emergence of Asean Public Spheres

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The Structural Pre-Conditions for the Emergence of Asean Public Spheres THE STRUCTURAL PRE-CONDITIONS FOR THE EMERGENCE OF ASEAN PUBLIC SPHERES Master Thesis Research Master Public Administration and Organizational Science Utrecht University | Erasmus University Rotterdam | Tilburg University Utrecht School of Governance Faculty of Social Sciences Tilburg Law School Author: Supervisor Abdul Muein Bin Abadi Prof. Dr. Koen Stapelbroek 4007573 Erasmus University Rotterdam Second Supervisor Prof. Dr. Steven Van de Walle Erasmus University Rotterdam Bestuurs- en Organisatiewetenschap (USBO) Utrecht University Netherlands August 2014 Acknowledgement My utmost gratitude to Allah the Almighty for the immense strength He has granted me during the course of my Research Masters studies in the Netherlands. I owe a profound appreciation to my supervisor, Prof. Dr. Koen Stapelbroek for his undivided support throughout the completion of this thesis. I also would like to express my humble gratitude to Prof. Arjen Boin who has encouraged me to be part of this research master program. Also, thank you to all professors and lecturers in this Research Master Program of Public Administration and Organizational Science – from Utrecht School of Governance, Erasmus University of Rotterdam, as well as Tilburg University – for such inspiring and informative discussions during and after the seminars that I had attended. My extended gratitude to the Malaysian Ministry of Education (MOE) and the National University of Malaysia (UKM) for the scholarship they provide to support my studies in the Netherlands. Also to Prof. Dr. Mohammad Agus Yusoff, a Political Science Senior Lecturer, and Prof. Dr. Sity Daud, the Chairperson of the School of History, Politics, and Strategy, the National University of Malaysia, who both have strongly supported me to pursue my study abroad. I would also like to express my greatest appreciation to my dearest wife, Adauwiah Binti Salih Ludin, for her continuous support and love. Last but not least, I have fond memories and the greatest honors for my beloved parents, Abadi Bin Chik and the late Zainun Binti Ali, through whom I learn diligence, perseverance, and sincerity. Abstract This study centers on the following question: do the political, civil society organizations, and media infrastructure conditions exist for the emergence of ASEAN public spheres? Based on the reconstructed theory of Habermas’ and Angela Crack’s public sphere, I have employed the following definition of ASEAN public sphere: a transnational site of deliberation in which civil society organizations reach an understanding about issues of common concern in ASEAN according to the norms of publicity. I have identified some patterns from three distinct structures that may converge to explore the emergence of ASEAN public spheres. Firstly, the prime site of the Southeast Asian regional governance consisting of the ASEAN Summit, ASEAN Community Councils, and ASEAN Secretariat – referred as “triple power helix” – has, to a certain extent, become open to the people’s input. Secondly, the emerging “ASEAN Community” project that is coupled with the rise of trans-boundary concerns has also paved the way for the consolidation of transnational civil society and discursive publics in ASEAN. As a reservoir for the grassroot opinion- and will-formation, the civil society in ASEAN – particularly the annual ASEAN People’s Forum event – has been recognized as indispensable in terms of its norms of publicity and political efficacy. Thirdly, the cross borders communicative infrastructure – mainly Internet-driven – conversely has proven to be a significant supplement to the mainstream media in the Southeast Asia in two ways. The first is that they provide ample opportunity for the grassroot formation as well as the mobilization of free and critical public opinion towards ASEAN across the region. Secondly, they challenge the “manipulative” and “manufactured consent” that tends to be propagated by the mainstream pro-political authority and pro-market media. Despite the prevailing supremacy of ASEAN’s political elites, as well as the interstate ICT cleavages in the region, I argue that a relatively conducive milieu has developed in which ASEAN public spheres can indeed emerge. Table of Contents Acknowledgement Abstract Chapter 1: Introduction………………………………………………………………………....1 1.1 ASEAN Background………………………………………………………………………….2 1.2 Literature Review: Theoretical Perspectives on ASEAN…………………………………….4 1.3 Societal and Scientific Significance………………………………………………………….10 Chapter 2: Habermas and Transnational Variants of Public Sphere Theory……………...12 2.1 Habermas’ Institutional Criteria of Public Sphere…………………………………………...12 2.2 Transnational Variants of Public Sphere Theory…………………………………………….18 2.3 Case Study: ASEAN Public Spheres Structures……………………………………………..19 2.4 Methodology…………………………………………………………………………………22 Chapter 3: Regional Governance and Public Opinion in ASEAN…………………………..25 3.1 The Beginning of the ASEAN Community Project………………………………………….25 3.2 Constitutionalization of ASEAN…………………………………………………………….26 3.3 Institutionalization of ASEAN Political Authority…………………………………………..29 3.3.1 ASEAN Summit…………………………………………………………………...30 3.3.2 ASEAN Community Councils……………………………………………………..32 3.3.3 ASEAN Secretariat………………………………………………………………...35 3.4 ASEAN’s Political Authority and Public Opinion…………………………………………..36 Chapter 4: Transnational Civil Society and Discursive Publics in ASEAN………………...37 4.1 Norms of Publicity in Southeast Asian Civil Society Networks…………………………….37 4.1.1 ASEAN People’s Assembly (APA)………………………………………………..38 4.1.2 ASEAN Civil Society Conference (ACSC)/ ASEAN People’s Forum (APF)…….40 4.2 Political Efficacy of Southeast Asian Civil Society…………………………………………44 4.2.1 ASEAN Charter’s Drafting………………………………………………………...44 4.2.2 The Southeast Asian Civil Society Interface Meeting with ASEAN Summit……..47 4.2.3 The Southeast Asian Civil Society Involvement in ASEAN Community Councils………………………………………………………………………….48 4.3 Discursive Demos in ASEAN……………………………………………………………….49 Chapter 5: Trans-border Media Infrastructure and Public Opinion in ASEAN……….....50 5.1 Variants of Southeast Asian’s Media………………………………………..........................50 5.1.1 ASEAN’s Media…………………………………………………………………..51 5.1.2 National Media…………………………………………………………………….52 5.1.3 Civil Society’s Media……………………………………………………………...53 5.2 Southeast Asian’s Trans-border Communicative Capacity Impediments…………………...55 5.2.1 Interstate ICT Divides……………………………………………………………...56 5.2.2 Bureaucracy Colonization: Censorship and Manipulative Publicity……………....58 5.2.3 Market Colonization: Profit Interest……………………………………………….59 5.3 Communicative Circuits and Public Opinion Transmission into ASEAN…………………..60 Chapter 6: Conclusion………………………………………………………………………....62 6.1 Pre-condition One: ASEAN’s Political Authority…………………………………………..63 6.2 Pre-condition Two: ASEAN’s Discursive Publics………………………………………......63 6.3 Pre-condition Three: ASEAN’s Trans-border Communication……………………………..64 6.4 The Future Path for ASEAN Public Sphere Research……………………………………....65 Appendix A: Lists of the Analyzed National Media’s Articles………………………………69 Appendix B: Lists of the Analyzed Civil Society Media’s Articles………………………….81 Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………………88 List of Tables Table 1: Habermas’ Three Knowledge-constitutive Interest…………………………………….13 Table 2: Three ASEAN Public Spheres’ Structural Focuses.........................................................21 Table 3: Qualitative Method Approach……………………………………………………….....22 Table 4: Data Collection Method for the Inquiry of the ASEAN Public Spheres……………….24 Table 5: A Comparison of References to “Liberal Reform” versus the “ASEAN Way” in the EPG Report and the ASEAN Charter……………………………………………………………28 Table 6: ASEAN People’s Assemblies, 2000-2009……………………………………………..38 Table 7: ASEAN Civil Society Conferences, 2005-2012………………………………………..40 Table 8: A Brief Summary of SAPA’s Three Submissions and their Reflection in the EPG Report and the ASEAN Charter………………………………………………………………….45 Table 9: List of Selected Media in the Southeast Asia…………………………………………..50 Table 10: Critical Publicity towards ASEAN in the Southeast Asian’s Media………………….54 Table 11: ASEAN Internet Use, Population Data, and Facebook Statistics, 2012………………56 Table 12: ASEAN ICT Infrastructure Indicators, 2011………………………………………….57 Table 13: Southeast Asian’s World Press Freedom Index Ranking 2010-2013…………………59 Table 14: A Summary of Pitfalls in Currently Applied Theory on ASEAN’s Politics………….67 List of Diagrams Diagram 1: The Eighteenth century Bourgeois Public Sphere Scheme…………………………13 Diagram 2: Structural Pre-conditions for the Emergence of ASEAN Public Spheres………......22 Diagram 3: ASEAN’s Demos, Track-II, and Track-III Dialogue…………………………….....42 Diagram 4: ASEAN ICT Masterplan……………………………………………………………56 Diagram 5: Three Structural Pre-conditions for the Emergence of the ASEAN Public Spheres..65 Chapter One: Introduction “When the Norwegian Peace Committee awarded the Peace Prize to the European Union, it cited its past record in promoting peace and reconciliation, democracy and human rights…increasing the democratic space and respect for human rights throughout the continent…If that is the main measure of Peace Prize candidature, there is no reason why ASEAN should not make the shortlist” (Kavi Chongkittavorn, The Irrawaddy, October 22, 2012). Approximately 40 years since its inception, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) had finally ratified its very first ASEAN Charter in 2007. It is intended to serve as a “legal and institutional
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