Page 140 - The Ethics of ASEAN

The Ethics of ASEAN

he development of ethics in ASEAN is not a straight arrow of time leading to a happy
resolution of all ethical issues. In some areas there has been paralysis, as we have
Tseen in the application of human rights that conflict with national policies based
on virtue ethics. In others cases, the arrow of progress has gone backward as in the case
of the 2021 military coup in Myanmar. New issues constantly emerge as we discussed in
several ECAAR dialogues. And even when ethical policies and statements by ASEAN are
agreed by all, this does not mean that they will be implemented on the ground.
In the confusing area of ethics, it can be asked whether the “arrow of progress” is an
illusion, that the arrow is a weather vane that points in whatever direction the wind blows.
The ECAAR dialogues give us an idea of the evolution of ethics in ASEAN. First,
because results-based ethics and emerging ethics bring into question what is important or
what gives the best result. The second source of evolution is represented in the dialogues
by youth who have their own ethical aspirations and want to express themselves.
In our concluding chapters, I will try to look into the future to see what ethical failure
and success might look like for ASEAN in the next 50 years.

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