This book commands attention. The editor, Donald K. Emmerson, has long been a perceptive observer of events in both Indonesia and the wider Southeast Asian region and he has gathered together an impressive set of contributors from a variety of backgrounds. The aim of the book is to explore how regionalism interacts on a number of levels with security and democracy in Southeast Asia. The chapters focus on the way in which the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) can best come to grips with some of the obvious tensions created by attempts to promote democratization and greater respect for human security, including human rights, in a region where governments place a high value on sovereignty, consensus and non-interference. The main strength of the book is that it explores, from a range of different angles, one of the central questions facing ASEAN, and indeed the wider world: how should ASEAN and its member states deal with an obdurate junta in Burma/Myanmar which is so clearly willing to ignore the advice of its neighbours and employ any and all means to violate the rights of its citizens to keep itself in power?

The volume's flagship chapter is Emmerson's thoughtful Introduction. It lays out the core issues in a clear and readable analysis of how governments within Southeast Asia have sought to prevent ASEAN from losing its way by adopting a new charter which, however, still does not appear to give the Association the leverage to deal with the Burma/Myanmar issue. Recent events in both Burma/Myanmar and Southeast Asia are detailed to give the reader the necessary background for understanding the dilemmas faced by regional decision makers. Perhaps one of the most fascinating aspects of the chapter is an analysis of the role of the current (2007–2012) ASEAN Secretary-General, Dr. Surin Pitsuwan, formerly an academic and Thailand's foreign minister. As someone who is widely seen as having a strong pro-democracy and pro-human rights record, Surin, who provides a Forward to the book, has had to face directly the problems of dealing with the Burma/Myanmar junta. Emmerson sees the extent to which Surin is successful in finding ways of getting the junta to open up as a litmus test of ASEAN's overall ability to educate its members to the value of democratization and respect for human rights. Complementing Emmerson's analysis of the Burma/Myanmar question are chapters by Kyaw Yin Hlaing, David Martin Jones and Eric Martinez Kuhonta. Jones and Kuhonta debate the merits of intervention with Kuhonta posing the crucial question of whether ASEAN can expect to remain relevant if it cannot effectively address the Burma/Myanmar issue. Other chapters examine the central tension set out in the Introduction by analyzing such issues as the drafting of the charter (Termsak Chalermpalanupap), the value of civil society and a people-centred ASEAN (Jörn Dosch and Mely Caballero-Anthony), Indonesia's push for democratization at the regional level (Rizal Sukma), regional environmental issues (Simon SC Tay) and nuclear energy security (Michael S. Malley).

This volume is an invaluable collection of analyses which remains timely. Certainly it helps to illuminate the Obama Administration's recent decision to work more closely with ASEAN to try and move the Burma/Myanmar government, however slowly, down the road towards greater respect for human security and democracy. The one criticism that might be levelled at the book is its lack of an analysis of the rise of China as a regional power and particularly China's decision in 2003 to sign ASEAN's Treaty of Amity and Co-operation (TAC) which emphasises respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity and non-interference. Subsequently, other states such as India and Japan—and now even the US—have signed the TAC and an assessment of the extent to which China's action tipped the balance among ASEAN member governments away from humanitarian intervention and towards non-interference would have been useful. Yet this is a minor point. Overall, this is an important set of essays that helps to shed light on the continuing evolution of one the world's most intriguing regions and one of its most important regional organizations.