Editorial 

Towards A More Inclusive International Relations 

 

Greeting from the Journal of ASEAN Studies! We are pleased to present you our latest 

edition which represents our continuous hard work to improve the journal to meet and 

maintain the international standard for academic publication. We are proud that we are 

consistent on choosing the unique, important, and interesting aspects of the region 

theoretically and practically that we believe will broaden your understanding and contribute 

to the accumulation of knowledge on the region. We, at the same time, are delighted that in 

this edition, we have wider coverage both in terms of disciplinary, scope of issues, and level 

of analysis. We have articles both from IR and non IR disciplines, we have conventional and 

non-conventional issues, and we have articles from inter-regionalism to domestic affairs 

from individual member states. This, however, represents the richness of the current 

dynamics and complex entanglement in the region which deserved a highlight. 

 Our first article is written by Pawel Mariusz Pasierbiak entitled “Causes, Origins, 

and Possible Effects of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC)”. This article was chosen as 

our first article as it represents the conventional issues on ASEAN Regionalism, that is, the 

problem of economic integration. Written by European scholar, this article represents 

outsider’s perspective on ASEAN integration. It is also interesting as it is critical towards the 

existing measurement used by regional actors to see the progress of ASEAN integration – 

issue that was rarely, if never, raised in the existing literature. The author, instead, uses the 

European experience to set the parameter for a common market. Of course, judging ASEAN 

using European standard has been widely criticized, but the author has been clear in stating 

that it is only in the context of common market and under condition that if ASEAN aims to 

go to that direction. 

 Apart from this debatable juncture of its economic integration, ASEAN integration is 

clearly distinct from that of Europe as it is driven quite influentially by bottom up or 

regionalization process. We are glad that we have Oliver Gill’s article in this edition as his 

article entitled “The Higher Education Dimension in East Asian Regionalism: A Two-tier 

Analysis of International Co-authorship Patterns in the ASEAN Plus Three” highlights the 

bottom up process of regional integration, and it focuses on education field which few have 

paid attention. Regionalization of education, as many have noticed, has played important 

role in forging mobility and exchanges among states with less intra-regional, compared to 

extra regional trade, which is important for regional integration. It is even more important in 

the context of Southeast Asia which have many challenges for regional integration. As 

discussed by Yanyan Mochamad Yani & Verdinand Robertua in their article entitled 

“Environmental Studies of English School: Case Study of Forest Fires in Indonesia and 

Transboundary Haze in Southeast Asia,” non-conventional issues such as trandsboundary 



haze pollution has been a continuous challenge for the region as it often provokes tension 

between neighboring states.  

 This has not mentioned the dynamics within state from each regional member. Ratu 

Ayu Asih Kusuma Putri, in her article “Political Leadership in South Korea’s Developmental 

State: A Historical Revisit” uses the case of South Korea to reflect indirectly the problem of 

developmental state which apparently many Southeast Asian states, including Indonesia 

also adopts in certain period of its history. Christopher Ryan Baquero Maboloc with his 

article entitled “The Radical Politics of Nation-States: The Case of President Rodrigo 

Duterte,” on the other hand, highlights the problem of radical politics under President 

Duterte in the Philippines. While his article specifically discusses the case of the Philippines, 

but radical politics as apparent in the rise of strong leader or also nationalistic and populist 

leader, is not unique to the country. In fact, it is a concerning phenomenon across the globe 

even though occur in different level and style. Lastly, the article written by Alberta Natasia 

Adji, Diah Ariani Arimbi, Adi Setijowati, Nur Wulan, Kukuh Yudha Karnanta on 

“Confessing Love to the Nation: Audrey Yu Jia Hui’s Works and Identity Reconstruction” 

discussed the unsettled classical problem of majority-minority relations using the case of the 

Indonesia. The interesting point of their article is their approach to this ethnicity problem 

through reading on the literature work from the minority circle, an approach which is also 

rarely used in the existing literature. 

 Finally, given all the richness of the present articles in this volume, the editors 

believe it is part of our efforts toward a more inclusive International Relations. We would 

like to express highest appreciation for the authors for their valuable contribution to the 

journal. Last but not least, we also would like to thank the Indonesian Association for 

International Relations (AIHII) for the continuous support for the journal and for our 

institution. 

 

Jakarta, 31 August 2018 

 

Prof. Dr. Tirta N. Mursitama, Ph.D. 

Editor-in-chief