Abstract
This article analyses the citizenship regime of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Current literature on ASEAN regionalism has refrained from examining the link between community-building and citizenship building, and the prevailing assumption remains that ASEAN lacks a citizenship regime. This assumption derives from the premises that a regional citizenship regime is the result of the reconfiguration of national citizenship rights and that it is a legally defined status. By deploying the concept of citizenship regime based on the dimensions of rights, access, belonging, and responsibility mix, the article argues that there is an emerging citizenship regime in ASEAN built on citizenship-related policies. This citizenship regime is informal, developing, and atypical – and the unintentional outcome of ASEAN trying to fulfil its agenda on community-building. The analysis contributes to citizenship studies and ASEAN regionalism by offering a nuanced understanding of how citizenship regimes are built through citizenship-related policies and practices.
Highlights
How is the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) building a regional citizenship regime without referring to the concept directly? Research on citizenship regimes has shown a close link between community-b uilding and citizenship building (Tully, 2014)
Through the method of semi-s tructured interviews and document analysis, the article shows that the reconfiguration of citizenship and the building of the emerging ASEAN citizenship regime took place during the establishment of the ASEAN Community, especially since 1997
The creation of the ASEAN Charter, the establishment of the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR), ASEAN’s “turn to rights,” the objective to forge an ASEAN identity, and the emerging steps towards allowing non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and civil society organisations (CSOs) to partake in political discussions all serve as such examples
Summary
How is the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) building a regional citizenship regime without referring to the concept directly? Research on citizenship regimes has shown a close link between community-b uilding and citizenship building (Tully, 2014). Research on supranational citizenship regimes (Auvachez, 2009; Fourot et al, 2018; Naujoks, 2020), on changes in national citizenship regimes (Jenson and Phillips, 1996), and the EU citizenship regime (Jenson, 2007) emphasises four main dimensions, namely rights, access, belonging, and responsibility mix This four-tiered concept helps to analyse the emerging ASEAN citizenship regime and its complexity. Contrary to other regional citizenship regimes such as the EU and the ECOWAS, the legalistic notion of identity, established through a regional passport or ID card, is not present in ASEAN Instead, it is forged through different policies, practices, and symbols, which are meant to develop a shared sense of belonging to the organisation. The responsibility mix is identified by exploring which ASEAN institutions have developed new citizenship- related responsibilities towards the ASEAN citizens
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