Divergence amid Consensus in Southeast Asian Foreign Policy: Roll Call Voting Analysis across International Issues in the United Nations General Assembly (1991–2018)

Abstract

This paper examines the nature of cohesive patterns of roll call voting behavior across international issues among the 10 member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). Existing studies reveal a high level of foreign policy convergence among these countries. By incorporating several international issues, we set out to advance the scholarly understanding of the ASEAN states’ voting convergence in the UNGA. Our bill-level analysis of voting similarity in the post-Cold War period shows that the respective voting patterns vary across issues on arms control and disarmament, colonialism, economic development, human rights, nuclear weapons and nuclear material, as well as the Palestinian conflict. These findings highlight the ideas and interests of Southeast Asian countries across different foreign policy contexts.