Interpreting global norms in Southeast Asia : the case of the Asean intergovernmental commission on human rights (AICHR)

This thesis develops a micro-level analysis, with a sociologically informed International Relations (IR) perspective, in order to contribute to understandings of how human rights institution building on a regional basis takes shape within a hostile context in which human rights norms are not widely endorsed. Specifically, it examines the key role of the ‘Norm Interpreter’ in the establishment of a regional human rights body in Southeast Asia – The ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR). It presents the term ‘Norm Interpreter’ as a new concept, which brings together literatures on Interpretive Communities, Norm Promoter, and Norm Translation. I position Norm Interpreters as a community of key individuals at the centre of a norm interpretation, translation and transmission process, who are central players in rendering global norms on human rights acceptable. In the ASEAN context this process is of particular interest because of the value incompatibility between global norms and existing, strongly adhered-to, local norms best understood as the ‘ASEAN Way’ and ‘Asian Values’. Within this framework, this thesis undertakes a microscopic reading analysis of the behaviour of the three subgroups of Norm Interpreters i.e. the Political Community, the Policy Network, and the Advocacy Coalition. It is argued that the dynamics of the social practice – ascertained by tracing interactions between the three subgroups – played a substantial, yet generally academically unexplored, role in the process. The thesis thus questions certain core ideas related to traditional approaches on Southeast Asian regionalism, including state-centrism, functionalism, materialism, as well as the commonly accepted notion of multitrack diplomacy. It is mainly challenged in accordance with Social Constructivism’s Practice Theory and New Regionalism Approach. This thesis identifies a variety of modes for influencing regional policy-making mechanisms by taking into account what are understood as the immaterial elements of interactor relations between subgroups of Norm Interpreters. This is an approach that meshes with a range of academic literatures such as the Veto Player Model, Policy Change Model, and Activist-Lobbyist Model. My analysis of the norm interpretation process confirms the dominant influence of local norms, not merely as factors hindering the adoption of global norms in the region, but, more importantly, as a fundamental medium of interaction between the actors involved. As is known, this intermingling served to enforce the creation of a regional rights body in ASEAN which carries more rights-promotional mandates and is extremely limited when it comes to mandates for rights-protection. The position this thesis takes is that the strategic role of Norm Interpreters made possible the establishment of a human rights body even within an unfavourable regional environment. This further conceptually reinforces the bigger picture: that Southeast Asia is willing to progress, not only process, with its regionalism. Highlighting the behaviour of actor, this thesis is a study of sociological regionalism, taking the case of regionalisation of global norms on human rights. At the same time, this thesis presents an empirical examination of the role of a community of key individuals in the regional policy-making mechanism in Southeast Asia