Regime complex and energy cooperation in Southeast Asia

• Main Author: Tan, Shuting
• Other Authors: Lee Chia-yi
• Format: Theses and Dissertations
• Language: English
• Published: 2018
• Subjects: DRNTU::Social sciences::Political science
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/73310
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Due to the importance of energy to economic growth, ASEAN member states (AMS) have devoted to energy development and regional energy cooperation in recent decades but received limited progress. This thesis is interested in investigating this phenomenon. Upon reflecting on the ASEAN way of cooperation and the trajectory of energy cooperation development, it argues that a patchwork of energy regimes exists and even governs the regional energy cooperation alongside with the ASEAN-led institution. By borrowing the existing wisdom of regime complex, this thesis develops a dynamic holistic framework for complex regime analysis and employs it to examine the current energy cooperation in Southeast Asia (SEA). The author finds that an energy regime complex does exist for SEA energy cooperation as a consequence of fulfilling the multiple interests of AMS. While the regime complex exerts both positive and adverse impact on cooperation, the latter could be overcome by adjusting the regime complex structure so as to facilitate the regional energy cooperation.