Timor-Leste and ASEAN: Shaping Region and State in Southeast Asia

There is a certain ambiguity in the definition of regions and this can be seen in the relationship between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Timor-Leste. This article discusses how regional actors have adopted and re-shaped the externally-imposed geographic and political definitions of Southeast Asia. These definitions were stabilized through the institutionalization of policies and practices of exclusion and inclusion which have affirmed the legitimacy of certain entities in the organization (i.e. being ASEAN), the acceptability of certain behaviours (i.e. acting as ASEAN), and the appropriate interpretive frames with which to solve problems (i.e. seeing as ASEAN). This enabled ASEAN to present a modicum of cohesion even while it facilitated the exclusion of East Timor as a 'legitimate' political actor in Southeast Asia. Over time, however, these definitions were destabilized by a convergence of external crises and increasing inconsistencies within ASEAN. As ASEAN embarks on redefining the Southeast Asian 'community', Timor-Leste is trying to demonstrate its bona fides by 'becoming' an ASEAN state with the requisite institutional capabilities, and 'acting' and 'seeing' as an ASEAN state in order to generate a positive consensus on its membership.