Research On The Evolution Of ASEAN,OAU/AU Institution

As an important pillar in contemporary international relations,regional institution plays an important role in regional peace and governance.Relatively speaking,in the field of international relations,based on its strength and influence,the regional institution composed of developed countries(such as the European Union,NATO,etc.)has received a lot of research,while the regional institution composed mainly of developing countries in many developing regions has received less attention.However,the history and reality of regional politics shows that regional institutions composed of developing countries(such as ASEAN,OAU/AU,etc.)also play an indispensable role in regional governance.The concept and connotation of international institution are broad,and the research object of institution is limited to the regional and political international institution constituted by developing countries.The evolution of international institution is an important field in the study of international institution.To study the evolution of the international institution development has formed some academic theories,put forward their own views on international institution evolution,mainly including to realist school of thought represented by "structural motivation",institutionalism school and constructivism school represented by "agents motivation",historical institutionalism school represented by "structure-agents motivation",etc.These existing studies and perspectives are valuable in explaining the evolution of the international institution,but they are not specific or detailed enough.Therefore,this paper attempts to construct a theoretical framework to explain the causes and process of the evolution of the political international institution in developing regions,and mainly answers the questions of why and how the political international institution in the region evolves.On the basis of realism,this paper proposes three theoretical hypotheses to explain the evolution of political international institutions in developing regions by absorbing the key concept of "historical institutionalism".First,the change of regional power balance is the prelude and necessary condition of regional institutional evolution.Second,the evaluation,cognition,judgment and expectation of regional institutional effectiveness of institutional member states determine the direction of institutional evolution.Generally speaking,"positive" cognitive orient to "institutional consolidation","uncertain" cognitive orient to "institutional layer","negative" cognitive orient to"institutional displacement";Third,in the process of institutional evolution,the emergence of "institutional innovators" is crucial.Through the continuation or revision of existing institutional preferences,new ideas,concepts,norms and rules are often introduced to become the vanguard of regional institutional evolution.To test these assumptions,this paper takes ASEAN and OAU/AU as examples.ASEAN is the most important regional institution in Southeast Asia,and OAU/AU is the most representative regional institution on the African continent.ASEAN and OAU/AU since its inception in 1967 and 1963,respectively,in the more than half a century of time and its institution with regional situation has changed,big or small,and they play an indispensable role in the evolution of international relations in East Asia and Africa,so this two cases is typical of developing regional political international institution.Specifically,after the great changes in the balance of regional power(the retrenchment of the United States,the rapprochement of China and the United States,and the hostility between China and the Soviet Union)in the period of 1968-1976,ASEAN has been relatively"positive"in the evaluation of its own institutional effectiveness.Under the active initiative of "institutional innovators" such as Indonesia and Malaysia,ASEAN has experienced institutional consolidation.Three documents(Zone of Peace,Freedom,and Neutrality,Treaty ofA mity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia,Declaration ofASEAN Concord)reflect the organizational norms and rules that the organization adhered to when it was founded,especially the adherence to and continuation of the principle of "non-interference in internal affairs".In 1988-1997,the international environment faced by ASEAN again showed significant structural changes.The evaluation of ASEAN's institutional effectiveness tended to be"uncertain".Under the initiative of "institutional innovators" such as Malaysia,Indonesia,Japan,ASEAN Institute of strategic and international affairs,ASEAN began to build institutions under the institutional preference of "ASEAN Centrality",and successively established the ASEAN Regional Forum(ARF),ASEAN plus China,Japan,South Korea cooperation mechanism(10+3),East Asia Summit(EAS),etc.Therefore,the institutional evolution of ASEAN shows the characteristics of"institutional layer".The Organization of African Unity(OAU)/African Union(AU)experienced"institutional consolidation" in 1979-1982.The retrenchment of France,the active involvement of Nigeria and Libya,etc.changed the balance of regional power in Africa.All parties engaged in a fierce game around the Chadian civil war.Under the proposal of "institutional innovators",the OAU held a relatively "positive" attitude towards its own institutional effectiveness,and finally agreed with the principle of"non-interference in internal affairs" and the implementation of peacekeeping operations in Chad,the institution principle and security function of OAU can be maintained.During the period of 1989-1993,the OAU experienced "institution layer".The easing of the US and Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War had a significant impact on the power balance and regional situation in Africa.The internal conflicts in Africa continued.The OAU held an "uncertain" attitude towards its own security function and institutional effectiveness.The "central organ for conflict prevention,management and resolution" and other security mechanisms of the OAU were established and gradually form a set of mechanisms to deal with African conflicts.During the period of 1993-2002,the OAU experienced "institutional displacement",and the Organization of African Unity was replaced by the African Union.After the end of the Cold War,the United States,France and other Western powers greatly reduced their strategic investment in Africa.The traditional principle of"non-interference in internal affairs" has gradually become an obstacle for the OAU to manage the internal conflicts in Africa.The peacekeeping operations of the United Nations and other international organizations are limited due to the limited resources.The OAU gradually takes a "negative" attitude towards its own institutional effectiveness in managing African conflicts.Under the guidance of the "institutional innovators",the OAU-General Secretariat,Nigeria and Libya(especially Gaddafi's "the United States of Africa"),the OAU finally made a decision to establish an "African Union" to replace the "Organization of African Unity" and give the AU the right to"conditionally" intervene in the internal affairs of African countries.After an in-depth analysis of several key institutional development periods of ASEAN and OAU/AU and a comparison with the aforementioned theoretical assumptions,it can be concluded that the three theoretical assumptions proposed in this study for the evolution of regional political institutions have certain explanatory power.Therefore,the research of this paper has certain academic and policy value.At the academic level,this paper attempts to provide a universal theoretical framework for the causes and processes of regional institutional evolution.At the policy level,the research of this paper shows that,if the right time is grasped,policy makers can contribute their own wisdom and solutions to institutional evolution and promote the development of regional institutions to a more favorable direction for regional governance.Of course,this study also has inevitable limitations,such as the degree of institutional evolution and other specific research areas need to be further explored.