Page 154 - The Ethics of ASEAN

The Ethics of ASEAN

Two findings are relevant to ASEAN’s ethical future. First, the IMF index shows that
global uncertainty, as measured in 143 countries, is the highest in 60 years. This means we
are at the peak of unpredictability since the start of ASEAN.
Second, the study shows that as political systems move from autocracy, or a mix
of autocracy and democracy (anocracy), towards full democracy there is a U-shaped
evolution of uncertainty. In the first phase, uncertainty increases. But in the second phase
as countries move from partial democracy to full democracy uncertainty decreases. The
shifting politics in many ASEAN countries show how uncertainty is affecting what types of
ethics predominate.
In short, ASEAN’s ethical future seems to be heading in a more mature direction but
there is great uncertainty within and outside ASEAN that affects the feeling that we are
moving in the right direction. Given this situation, the greatest guarantee against the risks
we saw in the previous chapter is the ethical quality and commitment of ASEAN’s future
leaders.
In this book we have seen dozens of ASEAN’s contemporary and future leaders
talk about the region’s ethical issues. Our panellists are aware, informed, capable and
engaged. The institutions and organisations they represent provide knowledge, guidance
and processes for ethical capability, notably for rules-based, results-based and emerging
ethics. Many of those institutions and organisations, and especially the ASEAN University
Network, are hard at work developing ethical leaders who can define their own ethics while
preparing for careers in which they will lead others.

The purpose of this book has been to contribute a missing element, perhaps the most
important piece of the ethical puzzle of ASEAN which is an overview of ethics specific to
ASEAN. My hope is that, imperfect as this book is, it will serve as a reference for today’s
and tomorrow’s leaders, experts and students in their work on ethics. I also hope that the
book will inspire writers, academics and thought leaders to do a better job in exploring
ASEAN’s ethics in theory and in practice.

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