ASEAN INITIATIVE TO ENDORSE MYANMAR'S PROPOSAL FOR 2014 ASEAN CHAIRMANSHIP

Abstract

In 2011, Myanmar proposed to take the 2014 Chairmanship by swapping their turn with Laos. This is a deviation to ASEAN Charter article 31 which says that "the Chairmanship of ASEAN shall rotate annually based on the alphabetical order of the English names of Member States". By default, Myanmar.s Chairmanship would have to be in 2016 after Malaysia in 2015. Despite this and also considering year 2014 is crucial as it is only a year before the plan of the realization of ASEAN Community, ASEAN approved Myanmar.s 2014 Chairmanship proposal. Therefore, this thesis aims to find out the reasons why ASEAN endorsed Myanmar.s proposal for 2014 chairmanship In conducting the research, constructivism theory and institutional approach from international organization theory are used as theoretical framework. Through constructivism theory, the ramification of past events is analyzed. The analysis is conducted particularly by identifying series of events and change of circumstance that affects ASEAN, Myanmar, and other actors involved. This is done to identify possible factors affecting ASEAN.s decision to approve Myanmar.s 2014 Chairmanship proposal. Meanwhile, through institutional approach from international organization theory, the ASEAN Charter is used as a guide to analyze the basis of ASEAN.s assessment of the eligibility of Myanmar.s Chairmanship. ASEAN Charter Article 32, "The Role of The Chairman," is the particular article which is used in this thesis as ASEAN.s standard in assessing Myanmar.s eligibility.