This book analyzes the social forces and political coalitions driving regional integration
projects in Asia with a focus on ASEAN and Indonesian conglomerates. It asks which social
forces within the domestic political economy of Asian states are driving governments to seek
regional arrangements for economic governance. In particular the book asks how the emergence
reorganization and expansion of capitalist class have conditioned political support for
regional economic integration. By addressing these issues the book emphasizes that the
wellspring of regional economic institution projects stem from the process of capitalist
development and the social forces it has unleashed. The book¿s aims place the social and class
relations that underpin regional projects ¿ rather than the institutions which result from
them¿at the centre of the analysis of regional integration. The research for this account draws
primarily on primary documents from archival and field research conducted by the
author¿including company documents and in-depth interviews government reports and policies
and trade publications and data sources which is supplemented with secondary sources where
relevant.
