In this book, Emmers addresses the key question: to what extent may the balance of power play a part in such cooperative security arrangements and in the calculations of the participants of ASEAN and the ART?

Introduction 1 Regimes for cooperative security: the formation and institutional evolution of ASEAN and the ARF 2 The role of the balance of power factor within and beyond regimes for cooperative security 3 The balance of power factor and the denial of intra-mural hegemony: ASEAN’s early years and its enlargement to include Brunei in 1984 4 The balance of power and extra-mural hegemony: ASEAN’s response to the Third Indochina Conflict 5 The post-Cold War regional security context: the role of the balance of power factor within the ARF 6 ASEAN’s post-Cold War involvement in the South China Sea dispute: the relevance of associative and balance of power dimensions

'This book takes a refreshing look at ASEAN through a largely neglected conventional lens - the realist balance of power.' - Asian Journal of Political Science'Emmers has researched thoroughly and presented his conclusions with admiral rigour.' - The Royal Society for Asian Affairs