Before and during the Second World War, the southeast region of Asia suffered the economic and political consequences of repeated colonialism, both European and Japanese. At the end of the war, it confronted problems of nation-building, the ravages of poverty and economic backwardness, and the pressure to align with one great power or another during the Cold War. This was a recipe for conflict, which the countries of Southeast Asia could ill afford. Efforts at Asian and Third World unity, such as the Bandung Conference and the Non-Aligned Movement, were ineffective in establishing the conventions for informal cooperation and interaction.

What is the name given to the form of interaction that is informal, non-confrontations, and cooperation among the ASEAN countries?

ASEAN Way

Unlike the EU there is little desire in ASEAN for supranational structures and institutions. ASEAN countries have celebrated what has become known as the ‘ASEAN Way’, a form of interaction that is informal, non- confrontationist and cooperative among the ASEAN countries?