Despite the long-held and jealously guarded Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) principle of non-intervention, this
book argues that states in Southeast Asia have begun to display an
increasing readiness to think about sovereignty in terms not only of
state responsibility to their own populations but also towards
neighbouring countries as well.
Taking account of the realities of interstate cooperation in the region,
and drawing on the work of Emmanuel Levinas, the author develops
a new theoretical framework reflecting an evolution of attitudes
about state sovereignty to explain this emerging ethic of regional
responsibility.
