Abstract
This paper reviews ASEAN’s initiative of realizing economic integration and opens the discussion on the probability of its success using a theoretical lens espoused by Walter Mattli in his book The Logic of Regional Integration: Europe and Beyond. Due to the dichotomous nature of the traditional theoretical approaches, this study utilizes Mattli’s demand-supply approach to reconcile the role played by market factors and politics, specifically actors and institutions, for seeking deeper integration. Mattli contends that the demand condition is mainly supported by market players and big businesses with larger economic interests while the supply condition is provided by an ‘undisputed leader’ and “commitment institutions”. He underscored that the combination of these two sets of conditions will mainly contribute to a successful regional integration process. However, this paper argues that ASEAN’s inability to satisfy both conditions does not automatically translate to the region’s eventual failure in seeking deeper levels of integration.
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