Civil Society Activism Beyond the Nation State

Abstract

This chapter reviews research on civil society engagement with international governance institutions with a particular focus on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and provides an account of how civil society activism can be understood as part of the politics of (de)legitimation of ASEAN. Examining the major transnational civil society networks engaging ASEAN, the chapter applies an analytical lens of legitimacy and (de)legitimation. The empirical study of legitimacy is concerned with how various audiences’ legitimacy beliefs vis-à-vis political institutions are shaped by practices of legitimation (boosting beliefs that the institution's exercise of authority is rightful according to certain normative standards) and delegitimation (challenging such beliefs). The main analytical argument of the chapter is that the opportunity for selected civil society participation, while highly contested among ASEAN member states, constitutes a form of symbolic legitimation for ASEAN. Post-authoritarian governments, especially in Indonesia, have seen some engagement with civil society as a way for ASEAN to strengthen its international legitimacy. Civil society activists, on their part, sometimes claim to challenge the legitimacy of ASEAN through severe public criticism, but through their engagement with this regional organisation, they actually contribute to its legitimation.