The Political Economy of ASEAN's Regional Integration

One of the important dimensions of cooperation in the international area is regional integration in which framework, specific regional countries are moving towards more integration. The integration of countries begins with the Free Trade Area (or preferential trade) and ends with the completion of two stages in the trade union and the common market or the full economic (political) union. The main question is why, after more than five decades of ASEAN's formation, this regional institution has not yet reached full political-economic integration? The research findings indicate that the integration trend, although with slight fluctuations, shows growth and expansion. There is also evidence that ASEAN faced with challenges such as, not so self-sufficient economic strength, dependence on foreign trade, a significant difference in member capabilities and inadequate coordination or political differences which are important barriers to achieving ASEAN's more economic integration. The aforementioned items have prevented ASEAN from achieving full political-economic integration, and now, ASEAN is pursuing its goal of a common market, with the passage of stages such as the Preferential Trade, the Free Trade Area and the limited Customs Union (incomplete). The present study is a qualitative one which analyzes the hypothesis with a descriptive-analytic approach. The method of compiling the material is also a documentary.