Summitry on the Regional Level: The ASEAN Summit and Regional Integration in Southeast Asia

Abstract

Summitry is a well-established form of interaction among states, which is conducted with various goals, such as addressing transnational issues, settling critical political disagreements, and forging an international order. Heads of state and government, competent persons to politically represent their states at the highest level, increasingly attend diplomatic relations and establish direct contacts with their counterparts thanks to the technological improvements in transportation and communication. They also gather on the regional level in an ad hoc manner or in the form of regular summits. In tandem with the intensification of regional interstate cooperation in an institutionalized way, summitry has become a considerable channel for the regional integration of states. In this sense, this study scrutinizes the consequences of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summits on the evolution of the Association from a historical and institutional perspective. Considering that ASEAN’s performance primarily hinges on the consensual will of its member states, the study principally asserts that regional summits in ASEAN’s institutional functioning have an extensive effect on the deepening and advancing regional integration in Southeast Asia.

Keywords

• Summitry
• Regional Level
• Regional Integration
• Association of Southeast Asian Nations

Bölgesel Düzeyde Zirve Diplomasisi: ASEAN Zirvesi ve Güneydoğu Asya’da Bölgesel Bütünleşme

Abstract

Uluslar ötesi sorunların ele alınması, kritik siyasal anlaşmazlıkların çözümlenmesi ve uluslararası bir düzen oluşturulması gibi çeşitli hedeflerle tatbik edilen zirve diplomasisi, yerleşik bir devletler arası etkileşim biçimidir. Kendi devletlerini en üst düzeyde temsil kabiliyetine sahip kişiler olan devlet ve hükümet başkanları, ulaşım ve iletişim alanındaki teknolojik gelişmeler sayesinde, artan seviyede diplomatik ilişkilere katılmaktadır ve mevkidaşlarıyla doğrudan temaslar kurmaktadır. Ayrıca söz konusu yetkili kişiler, ad hoc veya düzenli olarak, bölgesel düzeyde bir araya gelmektedir. Devletler arası bölgesel iş birliğinin kurumsallaşmış bir çerçevede yoğunlaşmasıyla birlikte, zirve diplomasisi, devletlerin bölgesel bütünleşmesine yönelik önemli bir etkileşim kanalı haline gelmiştir. Bu kapsamda bu çalışma, Güneydoğu Asya Uluslar Birliği (Association of Southeast Asian Nations-ASEAN) zirvelerinin Birliğin evrimi üzerindeki sonuçlarını tarihsel ve kurumsal bir perspektiften incelemektedir. ASEAN’ın performansının öncelikle üye devletlerinin mutabakatıyla oluşan iradeye bağlı olduğu düşünüldüğünde, bu çalışma, ASEAN’ın kurumsal işleyişi içerisinde bölgesel zirvelerin Güneydoğu Asya’daki bölgesel bütünleşmenin derinleşmesi ve ilerlemesi üzerinde kapsamlı bir etkiye sahip olduğunu ileri sürmektedir.

Keywords

• Zirve Diplomasisi
• Bölgesel Düzey
• Bölgesel Bütünleşme
• Güneydoğu Asya Uluslar Birliği

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