Dilemma Of Loyalty Transferring

Integration is the hot issue of the contemporary international relations theory research. Neo-functionalism school of thought has important implications in the theoretical research of integration. Neo-functionalism school of thought divide the process of integration into three dynamic development stages, learning, spillover, and loyalty transferring, which are interrelated. But in this theory, a convincing argument is not provided for that the spillover will result in the loyalty transferring. In fact, the loyalty transferring cannot be achieved as easy as what Neo-functionalism envisaged. It is the inherent contradictions and conflicts of regional identity and national identity that bring the loyalty transferring which Neo–functionalism expect into a theoretical plight.ASEAN integration is especially typical in this identity conflict. ASEAN member states after World War II are mostly emerging nation-state formed by the independent colonial through the national liberation movement. In those states, national ethnic identity and nationalist thought is in the ascendant, and the Westphalia concept of sovereignty style is quite strong. Meanwhile, the identity and concept of regionalism in Southeast Asia constructed by integration process since 1967, is also slow development, and get the deliberate cultivation under the supra-national planning of political elites in ASEAN countries. Its prospects for development should not be underestimated. The structural contradictions and conflicts exist between national identity and regional identity will be the "bottleneck" of Southeast Asia integration in further development. They will hinder the construction of the ASEAN Community and further development of regional integration in Southeast Asia, and bring the loyalty transferring into the plight of reality in ASEAN integration.In the future of the ASEAN integration process, it is the obstacle must be across for the formation of regional community that the reality plight of loyalty transferring which show out as identity conflicts. In the integration process, the system gradual change in Southeast Asia will promote the evolution of the concept of regional identity through structural path and functional path. On the one hand, structure in Southeast Asia, including three levels, the security structure, economic structure and cultural structure, continue to evolve in the process of ASEAN integration. It will promote the slow evolution of the concept of regional identity, and promote the growth of regional identity, while the gradual melting of the hard core of nationalism recognition. On the other hand, integration process will make a system evolution in regional public life. One important manifestation is the political field public authority transfer gradually from the nation-state to supra-national community, and the power dispersing and authority transferring of nation-state will promote the formation of the post-national structure, whose functional requirements of the social identity will lead to identity spillover, then promote the growth of regional identity. Changes in these two areas will gradually weaken the conflict between regional identity and national identity. Ultimately, they can create conditions for clearing up the plight of loyalty transferring.In conclusion, in the ASEAN integration process, the conversion of oriented identity attribution and the loyalty transferring to synchronize cannot be achieved as easy as what Neo-functionalism envisaged. But inspecting in long-term vision, ASEAN integration is an objective historical process. With in-depth development of the integration, the structure in Southeast Asia will continue to evolve, and the political authority of nation-state will gradually began to shift. The profound changes in the external objective will affect the internal cognitive, so that it gradually weakening of the conflict between identity. And then the reality plight of loyalty transferring will be cleared up. In the end, the loyalty transferring in the ASEAN integration process becomes possible in the future.