GEAB 192

At the start of this issue, we put forward the following hypothesis: Asia may be developing at breakneck speed, but it is ultimately following the same economic model of the West, and Europe in particular, into the crisis we all know about. So instead of looking down their noses at poor Europe, the Asians and ASEAN might do better to take a closer look and see the future they need to escape.

Our analysis focused on two main areas:

. The dynamics of European-style integration are unstoppable, and ASEAN will be no exception.

. The logic of economic growth is unsustainable, and ASEAN will have to face up to it.

ASEAN and the challenge of integration: Towards a true techno-cracy

As far as integration ambitions are concerned, ASEAN has clearly opted for its own strategy, which is measured in comparison with that of Europe. While the construction of ASEAN is similar to the European model, it has so far been better able to respect the sovereignty of its member nations and remain at the level of an “association” without succumbing to the temptation of a Union. This has enabled it to integrate countries with different or even opposing political philosophies. At the same time, it is seeking to pursue this integration to serve its ambitions for development and interconnection.[1] However, so far ASEAN has obviously embarked on a path of integration that avoids the harmful standardisation seen in the EU. Having existed since 1967, it has evolved largely at the same time as the European project, so it has been able to learn from the EU’s mistakes.

Our team anticipates that the integration of ASEAN will in fact take place via its connectivity project: by setting up infrastructures which, coupled with AI and boosted by the 6G, will provide a common administration, apolitical and unnational, belonging to all and to none at the same time, crossing a fabric of political territories with preserved differences. The result is a hybrid, pragmatic structure capable of integrating perfectly into a multipolar world. This is borne out by the fact that ASEAN’s original purpose, during the Cold War, was above all to protect itself from the Communist bloc (in other words, China). In a unipolar context, it has been perfectly successful in working with the United States. And finally, in the multipolar world of the 21st century, ASEAN is ideally placed to work with China – as well as with India, Australia, etc. – and to build with it the complex networks and interconnections between its members, with the rest of the continent and with the rest of the planet: