The ASEAN drama : half a century and still unfolding / edited by Edna E.A. Co and Carlos C. Tabunda, Jr.

Includes bibliographical references.

ASEAN Secretariat, symbolic or syndetic? / Filemon A. Uriarte, Jr. -- The ASEAN and the politics of major powers / Temario C. Rivera -- Down the rocky road to building ASEAN identity and citizenship / Jorge V. Tigno -- The ebb and flow of regional civil society involvement in ASEAN / Herman Joseph S. Kraft -- Do member countries benefit from economic integration? a case study of the ASEAN / Jose P. Tabbada and Sayeeda Bano -- The ASEAN way, bedrock or stumbling block? / Orlando S. Mercado -- Afterword, some critical thoughts and a way forward / Edna E.A. Co.

The ASEAN Drama: Half a Century and Still Unfolding reflects a diversity in thinking about ASEAN, its character, the issues the regional association faces, as well as the many dilemmas it encounters. The book is a forthright scrunity of ASEAN by academics and diplomatic practitioners. The chapters examine various dimensions of ASEAN, namely: economic performance using a particular methodology to gauge such performance of the member-countries; civil society engagement with ASEAN; the political power relations and dynamics within ASEAN; the so-called regional identity as a "caring and sharing community;" the ASEAN bureaucracy and secretariat; and the characterization and dilemmas of ASEAN as a regional association. --Back cover of the book.