Chapter Eighteen
Beyond Centrality: ASEAN’s Path to Regional Leadership
Scott D. McDonald
Anyone who fights for the future, lives in it today.
– Ayn Rand, The Romantic Manifesto, 1969
Abstract
In the face of escalating great power competition, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) can solidify its regional leadership by leveraging its established centrality and the unfulfilled promises of the U.S. Free and Open Indo-Pacific framework. This chapter argues that ASEAN can proactively shape the Indo-Pacific security landscape through concrete actions and by fostering a network of cooperative initiatives known as Communities of Common Interest (CCI). By initiating these CCIs, ASEAN can incentivize great power engagement on its own terms, reinforcing shared norms and values. This approach will solidify ASEAN’s centrality and elevate it to an actual leadership position in the region.
