In the last five years there has been a subtle but significant change in attitudes towards peacekeeping in Southeast Asia. Six years ago most ASEAN states were reluctant to take part in or even discuss joint peace operations at the regional level. However, today peacekeeping regularly features on the agenda of regional institutions like the ARF and ADMM+. Leading regional states such as Indonesia have announced ambitious plans to significantly increase their contribution to UN peacekeeping operations and, in 2011, ASEAN defence ministers agreed to establish an ASEAN Peacekeeping Training Centre Network to facilitate planning, training and exchange of experience in order “to contribute to peacekeeping efforts in the world”. Writing in 2005, Amitav Acharya argued that “the most significant barrier to peace operations in Asia […] is normative”. What then explains the change in attitudes that has occurred in the last five years? Why has there been a normative shift? This paper explores ASEAN’s changing views on peacekeeping against the backdrop of theories of norm diffusion, in particular constitutive localization, raising questions about some of the distinctions drawn between ‘local’ and ‘external’ actors.
