Middle Power Norm Entrepreneur: Indonesia’s Advocacy of the ASEAN Indo-Pacific Outlook

Abstract

This article seeks to decipher Indonesia’s role as a norm entrepreneur for the norms of amity and cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region by employing the conceptual framework of the “norm life cycle” developed by Finnemore and Sikkink and Holbraad’s avail of regional initiatives for middle powers. It argues that in contrast to existing literature that construed Indonesia’s role in ASEAN as a form of leadership, Indonesia is merely introducing emerging norms that coincide with its administration’s national interests and priorities. Jokowi initially wielded the regional platform of ASEAN to echo the norm of amity and cooperation, which are introduced through motives of altruism, empathy, and emotional commitment. The norm continued to the norm cascade stage, as the norm became institutionalized in the form of ASEAN Outlook in the Indo-Pacific and provided “peer pressure among states” to eliminate initial opposition to the proposal. Lastly, this article argues that the emerging norm is internalized among ASEAN member states and critical regional actors that contributed to the geopolitical and geostrategic shifts in the Indo-Pacific.