Humanitarian Intervention and the Question of Sovereignty: The Case of ASEAN • 465 Humanitarian Intervention and the Question of Sovereignty: The Case of ASEAN S haun Narine 1 Abstract The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has thrived as a regional institution that defends the traditional understanding of Westphalian sovereignty. In the post-Cold War era, however, pressure from within the international com- munity to redefine sovereignty to accommodate humanitarian intervention has placed ASEAN in a di fficult position. Historically, ASEAN has actively opposed the idea of human- itarian intervention. However, the ASEAN states have had to acknowledge that such a norm is emerging within the inter- national society. Moreover, ASEAN’s inconsistent defense of its professed values, particularly its reaction to the US inva- sion of Iraq, has undermined ASEAN’s ability to defend the traditional definition of sovereignty. Introduction Until recently, the consensus within the international community was that the foundations of the international system were built upon Westphalian state sovereignty. This meant that sovereign governments were the final authority within their own states. States expected each other to practice non-intervention in the internal affairs of other sovereign states. This formulation of sovereignty is now under attack from many different quar- ters. Some critics of traditional state sovereignty argue that many states 1 Assistant Professor of Political Science, St. Thomas University (Fredericton, NB, Canada). Perspectives on Global Development and Technology, Volume 4, issue 3-4 © 2005 Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden