The global order is entering a period of profound transformation, marked by intensifying geopolitical rivalry, economic fragmentation, and the rise of the Global South, which offers challenges and opportunities for Southeast Asia, according to a recent seminar.
Experts said the key question for the region is how the Association of Southeast Asian Nations can preserve its centrality and turn disruption into an opportunity to shape a more inclusive regional order.
They were speaking at the 13th Chula-ASEAN Dialogue — themed "The Once and Future ASEAN: Global Shifts, Institutional Agility, and the Path to 2045" — on Tuesday at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand.
"The decline of Western dominance is inevitable and not synonymous with the end of Western civilization," said Amitav Acharya, distinguished professor of international relations at the School of International Service at American University.
Rather than viewing the transition as a contest between the West and the rest, Acharya argued that the changing balance of power could be an opportunity to build a more pluralistic international system drawing on the contributions of different civilizations.
