Managing Peace and Security in Southeast Asia:

In a global system increasingly faced with non-traditional security threats, this paper will argue that, given its inability to effectively mitigate the situation of the Rohingya in Western Myanmar, ASEAN displays a lack of political will to manage peace and security in Southeast Asia. In order to argue that ASEAN does not yet have the political will to effectively maintain peace and security in light of the challenges Southeast Asia is facing in the 21st Century, this paper will address the changing definition of effectiveness in the maintenance of international peace and security. This includes the advent of so called „new wars ‟ comprised of transnational, non-traditional threats, and the changing norm of state responsibility in addressing these threats. ASEAN‟s development as the regional governing body with a mandate for peace and security in Southeast Asia will be examined through the creation of the ASEAN Charter and aspirations toward the ASEAN Community. Analysis of ASEAN‟s political will to address non-traditional peace and security threats will be based on its willingness to adopt international norms of state responsibility towards peace and security, and to hold its members to account in this responsibility. This analysis will include a focus on ASEAN‟s institutional mechanisms