GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2012/VOL 2 -NO 1 133 AFP PHOTO/ UDO WEITZ UDO PHOTO/ AFP Imagining ‘Eastphalia’ Stanley A Weiss t began in the Netherlands, as outraged Calvinists smashed is Founding Chairman statues to protest the wealth and excesses of Spain and the of Business Executives Catholic Church. In Germany, starving soldiers laid waste to for National Security I entire regions. The ensuing war engulfed all of 17th-century Eu- (BENS), a nationwide, rope in 80 years of bloody religious conflict. After the assassina- nonpartisan organization tion of generals and the death of kings, after nearly one-third of of US business leaders applying their best business Germany’s population lay dead from the plague or the sword, practices to assist US Europe’s rulers finally came together. They intended only to end national security agencies. the wars; they did not expect to create a new global order. But He writes widely on when they finally signed the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, Eu- public policy matters. rope — and the world — was on its way to being transformed. Westphalia proclaimed the rule of cujus regio ejus religio (“Whose realm, his religion”), meaning that citizens of a respective country were subject primarily to the laws and actions of their respective governments. Westphalia established fixed territorial boundaries for countries for the first time, with neither church nor chancel- lor able to interfere in another nation’s affairs. These tenets ushered 134 STRATEGIC REVIEW GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES in our modern system of nation-states. world of the 21st century. For insight, we Pope Innocent X memorably denounced need look no further than the Associa- Westphalia as “null, void, invalid, iniqui- tion of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), tous, unjust, damnable, reprobate, inane, which David Carden, the first resident US empty of meaning and effect for all time.” Ambassador to ASEAN, believes “is making Despite this papal condemnation, the mod- the case for a new definition of ‘regional- ern system of sovereign nation-states in- ism’.” The movement to integrate the 10 augurated by the Westphalian treaties en- nations of ASEAN — Indonesia, Singapore, dures over three and one-half centuries. Thailand, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia, Cam- The 20th century, however, gradu- bodia, Laos, Myanmar and the Philippines ally chipped away at the Westphalian idea. — into a single entity represents a differ- The principle of cujus regio gave rise to ent model of regional cooperation from the the corollary that government is sover- EU. Unlike the EU, ASEAN is less rooted eign to rule its people as it sees fit. It led in democracy, more tolerant of human to order among states, but also enabled rights violations and more committed to three centuries of atrocious human rights individual sovereignty. If successful, it may abuses. Out of the ashes of World War II redefine how other regions — from Latin and the Holocaust, countries came to- America to the Indian subcontinent to the gether to create the United Nations. Middle East — evolve in the 21st century. In 1948, exactly 300 years after the Peace It may also give rise to a new frame- of Westphalia, the UN ratified its Univer- work for a new century: Eastphalia. sal Declaration of Human Rights. It was the first global expression of rights funda- n August 8, 2011, 44 years to the day mental to all human beings and a challenge Oafter ASEAN was founded, the color- to the Westphalian concept of sovereignty. ful ASEAN flag was hoisted for the first For half a century, it was applied delicately, time alongside the banners of all member often through sanctions, in places like South states at hundreds of embassies and diplo- Africa. It wasn’t until the 1990s that the matic missions around the world. It kicked international community intervened directly off what ASEAN Secretary General Surin on behalf of humanitarian principles in Haiti Pitsuwan describes as “our drive to raise our and Kosovo — a thread that runs through own bargaining power from a larger base.” NATO’s recent intervention in Libya. Mean- At a time when the EU’s struggle to rescue while, the same decade witnessed the crea- free-spending members Portugal, Ireland, tion of a unified European Union (EU) in Italy, Spain and Greece has threatened to 1993, accelerating the trend toward interna- bring the whole continent tumbling down, tional organizations and regional associations. ASEAN is rushing headlong to create a It was at this moment that historians single economic community by 2015. began speaking of a post-Westphalian world. It may seem strange that flying the flag The question now facing us is not whether should lag so far behind the organization’s Westphalia is “empty of meaning and effect founding, but for many years, ASEAN was for all time,” but rather what meaning and a flagging confederation. The forum has effect it will have for our time, the globalized been derided as little more than a “talk GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2012/VOL 2 -NO 1 135 At a time when the EU’s struggle to rescue free- spending members Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Spain and Greece has threatened to bring the whole continent tumbling down, ASEAN is rushing headlong to create a single economic community by 2015. 136 STRATEGIC REVIEW GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES shop” whose deference toward sovereignty eliminated 95 percent of tariff and non- allowed successive waves of atrocity from tariff barriers, in an effort to increase intra- bad actors such as the Khmer Rouge and ASEAN trade from 25 percent to 35 percent Myanmar’s generals. Collective action on in the next four years. It has been working. economic or security policy was virtu- After reportedly implementing 75 percent of ally unheard of. ASEAN, a former Indo- its blueprint to become an economic bloc, nesian foreign minister dismissively noted, trade among ASEAN nations rose 33 per- is a mere diplomatic “cocktail party.” cent in 2010, while trade with China grew The people of ASEAN frequently reflect 25 percent in the first half of 2011. While its this sentiment. A young Filipino professional vision doesn’t yet include a unified currency, confided that ASEAN is only discussed in ASEAN has floated the idea of a common school textbooks, never in everyday con- visa and the free flow of skilled workers. The versation. It is telling that when Indonesia, latter is not an easy sell to ASEAN’s wealth- ASEAN’s largest member, held its 2009 ier members. As the EU has learned the presidential election, not one of the candi- hard way, wealthier nations tend to become dates mentioned the regional alliance, which beacons for job-seekers from poorer na- is headquartered in Jakarta. Yet in the past tions in a way that isn’t always manageable. A few years, ASEAN has made itself progres- new $500-million infrastructure bank funds sively more relevant across the region. The the building of roads, railways and ports to “talk shop” still focuses on dialogue, but it knit together the islands and archipelagos of has begun letting its actions do the talking. the Pacific Rim. These efforts have begun As the global financial system strug- to make real the prospect of rapid growth gles and China asserts itself in the South and access to the global marketplace. China Sea, ASEAN’s increasingly vulner- able member states are seeking a future in From 2009 to 2010, total cooperation. At the same time, ASEAN has so far maintained “the ASEAN Way” — the trade in ASEAN ballooned by region’s traditional respect for national one-third, to $2.09 trillion. sovereignty — while using the prospect of Savvy investors have caught economic prosperity to incentivize con- certed action on a range of policy goals. on, leading to a 38-percent Though ASEAN’s halting steps toward increase in foreign direct regional unity remain difficult to predict investment in 2010. with certainty, its growing readiness to act on critical regional challenges her- alds a new vitality. The lagging flag ap- By many measures, ASEAN is ascend- pears to be the leading indicator of a new ant. Whereas European nations formed the model of economic-centric regionalism. EU to arrest a continental slide into stagna- tion — stemming from a loss of economic s the saying goes, trade follows the power in an increasingly global economy — Aflag. Since implementing its ambitious ASEAN hums with the sounds of a region integration plan, ASEAN member states have on the rise. Its 600 million people produce GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2012/VOL 2 -NO 1 137 a combined gross domestic product of $1.7 Thailand and Cambodia, a regional first. trillion, exceeding that of India. ASEAN And rather than cowing to China’s preferred nations weathered the global economic method of dealing with each nation bilater- slowdown well, growing at 7.4 percent in ally, delegates have presented a unified voice 2010 with healthy future growth projected. in opposition to China’s aggressive move From 2009 to 2010, total trade ballooned into the South China Sea. This more unified by one-third, to $2.09 trillion. Savvy inves- posture has been noticed across the region tors have caught on, leading to a 38-percent by former critics like Anies Baswedan, rec- increase in foreign direct investment in 2010. tor of Indonesia’s Paramadina University, Economic integration has also served who says that “more difficult issues (are) as an instrument for improving govern- being tackled through official meetings.” ance and social policy. Though ASEAN’s Important partners, such as the US, have Secretariat still boasts only 70 profes- taken note. President Barack Obama, who sional employees overseeing a region of grew up in Indonesia just three houses down 600 million, its regional architecture – in from former Indonesian President Abdur- Professor Paul Evans’ characterization, “a rahman Wahid, has made the Asia Pacific noodle bowl” compared to the EU’s more a priority, as underscored by his assertive, complex and interwoven “spaghetti bowls” week-long trip to the region last November.