A Functional Analysis of Multilateral Regimes: The ARF – The Emergence of‘Soft Security’ The ASEAN Regional Forum – The Emergence of‘Soft Security’: Improving the Functionality of the ASEAN Security Regime Sisowath Doung Chanto* The ASEAN Regional Forum: Concept and Function The concept of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) has been to maintain the security viability of the region and to prevent regional disorder. The forum was founded in 1993 as the first intra-regional security institution encompassing the Asia-Pacific region for constructive dialogue between nations and for regional security cooperation. The objective of the ARF was to create a more predictable and stable pattern of relationships between major powers and Southeast Asia. Implicit in its conceptualization was the recognition that regional issues required the engagement of the great powers in regional affairs. The ARF introduced a new norm into the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) process of cooperative security that emphasized inclusiveness through the promotion of dialogue among both like­minded and non-like-minded states. Evolution and Expansion of the ARF: Institutional Building In the context of regional institution building, the ARF is unique. It was not created in the aftermath of war, unlike European institutions that developed in the aftermath of the Second World War and in the shadow of the Cold War. It was not a treaty or alliance confined to participants from the Southeast Asia region. The ARF considered that the participation of the major powers as well as middle-sized powers such as Australia, South Korea and India could bring positive security relations. The focus was on inclusiveness – bringing in participants with an interest in broader Asian issues who had traditionally been excluded from the consultative processes initiated by ASEAN in its Post-ministerial Conference(PMC) dialogues with major Western states and China. It is important to bear in mind that the ARF has not claimed to resolve contentious issues nor has it sought to be a negotiating forum. The forum’s objective and function is to build confidence and trust as well as develop cooperative norms of behaviour. Therefore, the ARF adopted a multilateral approach to prevent potential conflicts in the region. * Sisowath Doung Chanto is Deputy Executive Director at the Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace (CICP). 41