An agenda for preventive diplomacy : implications for ASEAN and regional conflict management in Southeast Asia

The post Cold War international system faces a number of key challenges. Among these, the increasingly complex nature of global conflicts and the inability of the United Nations to cope adequately with such cases has called for the identification of more effective methodologies of international conflict management. In this light, not only has it been suggested that regional organisations should play a more active role in assisting the world organisation in the responsibility for maintaining international peace and security, but it has also been recommended that the activities associated with the practice of preventive diplomacy can provide a more useful approach to this end. Preventive diplomacy can be classified into two main categories. On the one hand there is long-term preventive diplomacy which aims at the creation and maintenance of cooperative relationships between entities so that the functional value of conflict can be eradicated over time. On the other hand there is short-term preventive diplomacy which is concerned with thwarting the emergence or escalation of violent conflict at the inter-state and at the intra-state level. Preventive diplomacy aimed at thwarting violence involves a select group of functions and these include the activities of fact-finding and early warning, the use of diplomatic `good offices', the application of confidence-building measures, and the act of preventive deployment. These activities require adequate resources, preparation and political support. However it cannot be assumed that certain regional organisations, in the call to be more supportive to the United Nations, will be readily able to implement such measures of preventive diplomacy. The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) is one particular regional organisation which has been finding it difficult to fully develop such a preventive diplomacy capability. ASEAN is a regional organisation preoccupied with fortifying intra-mural political unity, and with proving itself as a consequential grouping of states within the wider Asia-Pacific region. It is also a regional organisation that continues to be informed by a deeply embedded style of regional conflict management known as the `ASEAN way'. These inter-related factors have made considering a preventive diplomacy agenda less of a priority for ASEAN. Needless to say, it is essential for the ASEAN states to acknowledge the importance of more substantial conflict prevention measures for the region.