WIMAYA

Emerging Ethical AI Governance in Southeast Asia through Global and Regional Frameworks

2026-06-02T03:12:56+00:00

Artificial intelligence (AI) has generated increasing governance and ethical concerns worldwide, including issues related to transparency, accountability, fairness, privacy, and human rights. In response, international organizations and governments have developed frameworks intended to promote responsible and ethical AI development. Within Southeast Asia, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) introduced the ASEAN Guide on AI Governance and Ethics in 2024 as a regional framework to support ethical AI governance and policy coordination among member states. This study examines how global AI governance principles are translated into ASEAN’s regional framework and adapted within national AI governance strategies in Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Thailand. Using qualitative documentary analysis and a comparative case study approach, the study analyzes international, regional, and national AI governance frameworks through the lenses of global governance and norm diffusion. The findings indicate that ASEAN has emerged as an important platform for promoting ethical AI principles and regional policy coordination through a soft-governance approach. However, substantial variation exists in governance readiness, institutional capacity, and implementation across member states. While Singapore demonstrates a relatively advanced AI governance framework, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Thailand remain at different stages of policy development and implementation. The study further finds that global AI governance principles originating from frameworks such as UNESCO and the OECD are transmitted through ASEAN’s regional framework and selectively adapted within national governance systems. Although ASEAN provides a common ethical foundation, its voluntary and non-binding nature limits its ability to ensure consistent implementation across the region. Strengthening regional coordination, institutional capacity, and implementation mechanisms will therefore be essential for advancing ethical AI governance in Southeast Asia.

Localizing Global Energy Norms: Agency and Modality in Nusa Penida's Bottom-Up Energy Transition

2026-05-29T09:27:45+00:00

This article examines how non-state actors orchestrate bottom-up localization of energy transition norms in Indonesia, using Nusa Penida as a case study. Drawing on Amitav Acharya's framework of norm localization, and applying qualitative secondary data analysis as research method, the study argues that bottom-up initiatives offer potential for effective norm adaptation by leveraging local modalities. The Nusa Penida Initiative (NPI), initiated by a network of non-state actors, demonstrates emerging success through cultural framing, systematic roadmap planning, and community-based financing. The findings underscore that effective localization depends critically on non-state agency, funding modality, and local adaptive capacity. The article concludes that centering local actors and leveraging endogenous modalities are essential for inclusive and sustainable energy transitions in peripheral regions.

ASEAN’s Leadership Capacity as the Heart of the Indo-Pacific

2026-05-29T07:10:04+00:00

Amid intensifying great power competition, the Indo-Pacific concept has emerged as a crucial geopolitical framework that expands traditional constructs of the Asia-Pacific. As major powers such as the United States, Japan, India, and Australia develop Indo-Pacific strategies to counter China's growing influence, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) seeks to maintain regional stability and relevance through the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP). Based on the principle of ASEAN Centrality, the AOIP reflects ASEAN's commitment to an inclusive and rules-based regional order and its ambition to be a key architect of Indo-Pacific cooperation. This paper examines ASEAN's leadership using the leadership-institution model, which distinguishes between ideational leadership—grounded in ideas, norms, and identity building—and executive leadership—rooted in material capabilities and institutional authority. The findings highlight ASEAN's strong ideational leadership through its ability to uphold shared principles and facilitate dialogue among diverse actors, despite lacking binding enforcement authority. However, ASEAN's executive leadership remains hampered by weak collective military capacity, economic disparities among member states, and consensus-based decision-making, which often results in non-binding outcomes. Overall, this study demonstrates that while ASEAN plays a crucial role in promoting inclusivity and sustaining dialogue, significant challenges remain in translating its centrality into decisive institutional leadership within the evolving Indo-Pacific architecture.

Rethinking Regionalism: Institutional Change, Security, and Development in the Sahel’s Alliance of States

2026-05-04T08:45:27+00:00

This article examines the institutional evolution of Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso from externally driven regional forums to the creation of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), a confederate alliance established in 2023. This research analyzes the draws on institutionalist and neoclassical realist frameworks, as well as qualitative document analysis, empirical data,, and comparative review. The study finds that persistent insecurity, developmental stagnation, and the withdrawal of international actors are key drivers for the move towards greater regional autonomy. The article shows the advantages and the risks of the confederate structure of the AES by comparing it with previous and parallel African regional organizations. The findings highlight the propositions for sovereignty, governance, and external partnerships and the importance of inclusive regional governance in preventing democratic backsliding. Policy recommendations are provided to national governments, regional organizations, and international partners to promote stability, resilience, and development in the Sahel region.

Keywords: Sahel, regional integration, confederation, security, development, Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso.

Integration of ASEAN Outlook on Indo-Pacific (AOIP) Cooperative Functionalism in the Joko Widodo Era: An Analysis of Indonesia’s Strategic Mechanisms and Regional Impact (2014-2024)

2026-05-29T08:58:00+00:00

This article examines Indonesia’s implementation of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP) during President Joko Widodo’s administration (2014-2024), focusing on the country’s “open-ended mechanism” approach to regional integration. Drawing on functionalist integration theory, we analyze how Indonesia leveraged AOIP’s framework to create flexible cooperation platforms that accommodate diverse interests while building functional integration across maritime cooperation, connectivity, sustainable development, and economic domains. Through examination of diplomatic initiatives, sub-regional programs like BIMP-EAGA, and external partnership frameworks, we assess whether Indonesia’s strategy generated genuine regional integration or merely episodic cooperation. Our findings reveal a mixed outcome: while AOIP achieved moderate success in institutional development and sector-specific interdependence, particularly in maritime and economic domains, it failed to demonstrate functionalist spillover effects or political convergence among member states. The study concludes that Indonesia’s open-ended mechanism represents “integration without supranationalism” a distinctively flexible approach to regionalism that increases interdependence without sovereignty pooling, reflecting both the possibilities and limits of middle power leadership in an era of intensifying great power competition.

Amnesty International's Challenge in Addressing the Women's Rights Crisis (Gender Apartheid) after the Taliban's Political Coup in Afghanistan

2026-05-25T01:54:40+00:00

After the Taliban coup in Afghanistan, women's rights deteriorated further, creating a state of so-called Gender Apartheid. Violations included restrictions on access to schools and jobs, forced marriages, withholding of identity cards, and bans on public appearances. Many women were imprisoned and tortured for violating religious rules. As evidenced by Amnesty International's report, more than 50% of women in Afghanistan currently experience Gender Apartheid, down from 78% in 2021 and 60% in 2022. This research aims to understand the challenges Amnesty International faces in addressing the women's rights crisis after the coup. The method used is a Qualitative Approach with a Liberal Feminism Perspective and International Organization Theory according to Clive Archer. The results showed that the challenges were divided into internal and external challenges. Internal challenges such as the safety of activists and lack of funding. External challenges include a lack of support from major countries, the complex Taliban culture, and distrust of Amnesty International.

The Role of Global Civil Society in Challenging the Hegemony of Pharmaceutical Corporations

2026-04-29T07:44:30+00:00

This study examines how global civil society campaigns against the Agreement on Trade Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) expose inequalities in global governance, particularly the dominance of developed countries and pharmaceutical corporations in setting international norms. The study highlights the impact of TRIPS implementation on access to essential medicines in developing countries and the role of civil society in challenging unequal power structures and driving transformation towards more equitable global governance. The case study of the generic drug access campaign and response to the COVID-19 pandemic shows how civil society is resisting through legal advocacy, public diplomacy, and transnational solidarity. On the other hand, this paper also evaluates the structural limitations of global justice mechanisms, such as the Doha Declaration and the TRIPS waiver, which are often insufficient to counter the dominance of global economic powers. This paper, through a critical approach, emphasizes the importance of strengthening civil society and championing inclusive, rights-based global governance.

The Problem of China: Persoalan dan Prediksi Masa Depan Cina [The problem of China: Issues and Predictions of China's Future], by Bertrand Russell (S. Abdullah, Trans.)

2026-06-06T03:52:27+00:00

Digital Diplomacy in Indonesia’s Foreign Policy by Albert Triwibowo

2026-06-19T14:30:02+00:00