| Summary/Abstract |
THE ASSOCIATION of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), set up by Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and the Philippines in 1967 under the Bangkok Declaration,1 has become an important actor in regional politics. Having extended its membership to Brunei in 1984, to Vietnam in 1995, to Laos and Myanmar in 1997,2 and to Cambodia in 1999, the association brings together ten countries with different economic and political systems. Today, ASEAN is a large market, an area with a population of more than 600 million3 (third place in the world), and a rapidly growing economy with a combined gross domestic product of more than $2.3 trillion4 (seventh place in the world).
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