The european union and ASEAN: Deepening cooperation in human security

Many scholars and analysts have always tried to draw a distinction in the nature of regional integration between the European Union (EU) and ASEAN. Other than the vast differences in socio-cultural attributes, the level of institutionalisation between these two regional organisations has been cited as one important factor that explains why the speed and depth of integration is faster in one than the other. Yet, if one were to highlight the similarities between EU and ASEAN in their respective pursuit of regional peace and security, a key feature that stands out is the emphasis on common and cooperative security to deal with a range of regional/ global security and developmental challenges.