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A case of failed interregionalism? Analyzing the EU-ASEAN free trade agreement negotiations

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  • Katharina Luise Meissner

    (European University Institute)

Abstract

In 2007, the European Union (EU) and the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) started interregional negotiations on a free trade agreement, which failed 2 years later. Relying on document analysis and elite interviews with officials from the EU and ASEAN’s members, this article addresses why and the extent to which the interregional negotiations failed. By rooting the theoretical model in a power-based approach, the analysis demonstrates that the EU has attempted to secure its economic and regulatory power in Southeast Asia. In striving for such power, interregionalism was initially the intuitive way because the EU perceived ASEAN as a cohesive bloc. However, the EU’s ambitious vision for comprehensive agreements clashed with the actual heterogeneity of ASEAN member states. The failure of the interregional approach is, thus, a result of the EU’s delicate balance between political and economic interests in Southeast Asia, which it pursues with trade-specific issues.

Suggested Citation

  • Katharina Luise Meissner, 2016. "A case of failed interregionalism? Analyzing the EU-ASEAN free trade agreement negotiations," Asia Europe Journal, Springer, vol. 14(3), pages 319-336, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:asiaeu:v:14:y:2016:i:3:d:10.1007_s10308-016-0450-5
    DOI: 10.1007/s10308-016-0450-5
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    Cited by:

    1. Marc Bungenberg & Angshuman Hazarika, 2017. "The European Union’s trade and investment policy in Asia: new challenges and opportunities in a changing global environment – or: following individual roadmaps," Asia Europe Journal, Springer, vol. 15(4), pages 377-397, December.
    2. Marie Sophie Peffenköver, 2021. "Congruence-building on multiple fronts: Indian elite perceptions of EU rule promotion in India during the EU-India FTA negotiations (2007–2013)," Asia Europe Journal, Springer, vol. 19(2), pages 149-165, June.
    3. Julie Gilson, 2020. "EU-ASEAN relations in the 2020s: pragmatic inter-regionalism?," International Economics and Economic Policy, Springer, vol. 17(3), pages 727-745, July.

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