ASEAN has declared its intention to create a security community in Southeast Asia that is people-orientated. This book evaluates ASEANâs progress and in doing so examines three matters of concern. The book firstly looks at the importance of constitutive norms to the workings of security communities by identifying ASEANâs constitutive norms and the extent to which they act as a help of hindrance in establishing a security community. It then moves on to how ASEAN has interpreted people-orientated as empowering civil society organisations to be community stakeholders. The book discusses the uncertainty between how ASEAN envisages their role and the role they themselves expect to have. Civil society actors are seeking to influence what sort of community evolves and their ability to interact with the state elite is evaluated to determine what interpretation of people-oriented is likely to emerge. Thirdly in order to make progress ASEAN has sought to achieve cooperation among its member states in functional areas. The book examines this interest in functional cooperation through case studies on human rights HIV/AIDS and disaster management. By discussing the notion of ASEAN being people-orientated and how it engages with âthe peopleâ the book provides important insights into what type of community ASEAN in building as well as furthering our understanding on security communities more broadly. . Language: English