Human rights promotion and economic security dilemmas in the EU’s trade policy to ASEAN

Since the Nineties, the promotion of EU norms and human rights has been a core objective of the EU’s policy to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Yet, in recent years, the EU’s approach towards the trade/human rights nexus has varied depending on the ASEAN trade partner, spanning a more cooperative and conciliatory attitude, to trade sanctions in defence of human rights. The EU has adopted a more cooperative stance in relations to Vietnam and the Philippines, a cautiously conflictual position with Myanmar, and a more conflictual approach with Cambodia. This paper investigates the strategic dimension behind the role of the EU in the ASEAN region and explains this differentiated approach from an economic security angle. In doing so, it offers an analytical framework that integrates insights from political economics and security studies.