Rodolfo C. Severino – författare

Not just another book on ASEAN, this volume reappraises the organization from the inside, through controversial or perplexing issues such as the ""ASEAN Way"", the accession of the new members, including Myanmar, the principle of ""non-interference"", regional security, regional economic integration, the haze and SARS, and ASEAN's future. Written by a key player, the former ASEAN Secretary-General, this book will illuminate the inner workings of the key Southeast Asian regional institution. It is a must-read for journalists, policy-makers, political scientists and others who need an insiders' view on how ASEAN has evolved, how it operates and whether it will remain relevant in the evolving Asia Pacific and global order.

"Know Your ASEAN" sets down, in clear and simple language, the basic facts about the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. It does so in the form of 40 questions and their answers. It is among the contributions of the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies to the observance of the 40th anniversary of ASEAN's founding on 8 August 1967.The booklet provides facts on ASEAN's establishment, membership, financing and decision-making. It recalls the association's contributions to regional security. It explains what ASEAN is doing to integrate the regional economy and promote regional cooperation on the environment, infectious diseases, counter-terrorism, poverty reduction, and natural disasters. It clarifies such issues as non-interference and human rights. It touches on ASEAN's relations with other countries and international institutions.Through this booklet and its other work, ISEAS hopes to contribute to the expansion of public understanding about ASEAN, recognizing the fact that regional solidarity, integration and cooperation will be possible only with sufficient public support.The publication's design and the cartoons in it are by Miel, Senior Executive Artist and cartoonist of the "Strait Times".

Philippine observers are often baffled by the economic and political turmoil that dominates headlines about the country. Yet, at the same time, the Philippines continues to hold the potential for successfully combining political freedoms with sustained economic growth and, thus, improving the lives of its people.In this book, a team of distinguished scholars examines these seemingly contradictory trends in order to gain a sense of the country's prospects.

Since its founding in 1967, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations has been an increasingly large part of the life of Southeast Asia, although most people in the region know very little about it. ASEAN has helped bring peace and stability to the region. It has successfully engaged the world's major powers, in East Asia and beyond. ASEAN has taken steps to integrate the regional economy as an important means of cooperatively improving the region's competitiveness, attracting investments, generating jobs, raising incomes, and lowering costs and prices. ASEAN has also formed networks for dealing with regional problems like communicable diseases, environmental degradation, and transnational crime. An essential part of the ""Southeast Asia Background Series"", this book seeks to shed some light on what ASEAN is all about.

'Where in the world is the Philippines?' is a question that has been deftly and consistently dodged by our politicians at the expense of clearly defining the Philippines' territorial and maritime jurisdictions. Severino's scholarly work lays out what has happened in the past and what must be done in the future - and does so just as newly elected President Benigno S. Aquino begins his term in office. With the help of this timely and comprehensive study, it is imperative that Aquino and the Congress confront and resolve territorial issues once and for all. -- Roberto R. Romulo, former Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines