Over the past decade, the member countries of the Association ofSoutheast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have experienced dramatic economicgrowth. But economic transformation has created a number of new policychallenges, which the ASEAN governments must address as they preparefor the twenty-first century.


New Challenges for ASEAN examines some of the mostimportant policy issues confronting ASEAN governments. These includethe degradation of the maritime and urban environments, new strains oninter-ethnic relations, domestic and international pressures to ensurethe protection of human rights, growing barriers to trade with theoutside world, and security concerns arising from a changing regionalbalance of power. The responses of the ASEAN governments to thesechallenges, at domestic, regional and international levels, arecritically examined by a group of experts with longstanding interest inSoutheast Asian affairs.