Beyond Consensus: Democratic Element in ASEAN Plus Three Economic Cooperation - Saputro, Eko NM (Global Strategis, 2020)
ABSTRAK Forum kerja sama keuangan ASEAN Plus Three (APT) telah menunjukkan kemajuan signifikan sebagai sebuah kerja sama regional. Hal ini terbukti dari beberapa perjanjian kerja sama yang disepakati dan diimplementasikan. Menariknya, kemajuan ini dicapai di tengah eksistensi berbagai sistem politik maupun ekonomi di kawasan tersebut; sebuah kondisi yang sering dijadikan alasan atas sulitnya proses demokratisisasi. Alhasil, selain menciptakan manfaat bagi ekonomi, kerja sama keuangan APT telah memfasilitasi pengenalan elemen-elemen demokrasi melalui inisiatif-inisiatif yang ada. Terkait hal ini, penelitian ini mencoba mengeksplorasi unsur-unsur demokrasi dalam inisiatif keuangan APT, khususnya pada inisiatif dukungan likuiditas regional, dan fasilitas penjaminan kredit. Penelitian mengungkap bahwa proses pengambilan keputusan kedua inisiatif tersebut telah mengadopsi prinsip-prinsip dasar demokrasi prosedural. Temuan awal juga menunjukkan bahwa adopsi prinsip-prinsip demokrasi prosedural dipicu oleh bisnis proses kedua inisiatif tersebut daripada perubahan ideologi politik di dalam negeri negara-negara anggota forum APT. Kata-kata kunci: ASEAN Plus Three, kerja sama keuangan, prinsip demokrasi, tata kelola regional. ABSTRACT The ASEAN Plus Three (APT) financial cooperation forum has shown significant progress as regional cooperation. It could be seen from several cooperation agreements that were agreed upon and implemented. Interestingly, the progress made amid the existence of various political and economic systems in the region; a condition that often used as an excuse for the difficulty of the process of democratization. As a result, besides creating economic benefits, APT’s financial cooperation has facilitated the introduction of elements of democracy through existing initiatives. Furthermore, this research tries to explore the elements of democracy in APT financial initiatives, especially in regional liquidity support initiatives and credit guarantee facilities. Research reveals that the decision-making process of the two initiatives has adopted the basic principles of procedural democracy. Preliminary findings also indicate that the adoption of the principles of procedural democracy was triggered by the business process of the two initiatives rather than changes in the political ideology within the APT forum member countries. Keywords: ASEAN Plus Three, financial cooperation, democratic principles, regional governance.