The nature of Southeast Asian security challenges

The article argues that there has been a convergence of security challenges in Southeast Asia and the OECD world since the end of the Cold War, but this has not been matched by a convergence of security cultures. Interstate wars and military conflicts, absent in the OECD world since the end of World War 11, have also subsided in Southeast Asia, while non-conventional security threats - such as international terrorism, organized crime, irregular migration, environmental degradation and pandemics; - have increased in both worlds. However, despite incipient institution-building, Southeast Asian security policies still differ markedly from those of the OECD world. Power and state-centric approaches and a strong reliance on national sovereignty impair collective action.