The Hegemonic Power's Limited Participation in an Institution of Multilateralism——The Case of the US Participation in the ASEAN Regional Forum

This article first briefly reviews the reasons why a hegemonic power chooses to participate in the institution of multilateralism, and then analyzes the behavior and causes of a hegemonic power's limited participation in an institution of multilateralism by the case of the US participation in the ARF. This article argues that because the binding on policy autonomy is the essential basis of the effectiveness of an institution of multilateralism to solve problems and the important source of the legitimatizing effects of a hegemonic power, although a lowly binding institution of multilateralism can allow a hegemonic power's participation by low costs, it only gives the hegemonic power the expectation of less benefits. In such circumstances, the hegemonic power will choose limited participation.