Summary

Southeast Asia moved onto the world stage during the tragic U.S. war in Vietnam. In 1967 five founding nations created the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to help the region resist outside interference and foster unity within the region. Forty years later, ASEAN agreed upon a charter for the organization, and in 2015 the ASEAN Economic Community was declared.

Providing an overview of the dynamic Southeast Asian region and the 10 member nations that make up this organization, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Second Edition, highlights the association's successes, such as the establishment of a Free Trade Area, and details its failures, such as its limitations in influencing member nations regarding human rights issues. It explores how the association works, its partnerships with other countries and organizations, and recommends several key initiatives to strengthen youth development and regional cooperation and development.

Specifications

eBook

About the Author(s)

Author Gerald W. Fry is distinguished professor of international/intercultural education at the University of Minnesota. He has worked in Southeast Asia in diverse capacities for more than six decades. Fry holds a B.A. in economics from Stanford, an M.P.A. in public and international affairs from Princeton, and a Ph.D. in international development education from Stanford. From 1991 to 1992 he was a Pew Fellow in International Affairs at the Kennedy School, Harvard University and from 2006 to 2007 he was a visiting research scholar at Nagoya University in Japan. He has published many books and articles. His most recent books are Happiness Education: Holistic Learning for Sustainable Well-Being (Routledge, 2024), with Dr. Haelim Chun, and the Historical Dictionary of Thailand (Scarecrow Press, 2024).

Coauthor Vongrathayuth Hingphith holds an M.Ed. in curriculum and instruction from the Royal University of Phnom Penh, as well as an M.A. in comparative and international development education from the University of Minnesota. He has worked in multiple nonprofit organizations and public institutions in Southeast Asia.