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Abstract

The RCEP agreement is currently the largest free trade agreement involving ten ASEAN member countries and their trading partners, comprising around 30% of the world’s GDP. As an international organisation in the Southeast Asian region, ASEAN has the desire to increase its regional economic integration, one of which is through the RCEP agreement. This article aims to discuss how ASEAN attempts to enhance regional economic integration through its roles during the RCEP agreement's formation process. The author uses role theory by Lisbeth Aggestam (2006), which elaborates on four role concepts: role expectations, role conception, role performance, and role-set. This research uses qualitative methods of analysing documents, including books, journals, and other supporting data. Through this research, we found that ASEAN has fulfilled its various roles as an international organisation during the RCEP formation process in order to make this agreement possible, including meeting external expectations, actualising ASEAN’s goals, its responsivity in fickle conditions, and implementing the ASEAN centrality concept. This research shows that ASEAN has succeeded in fulfilling its role as an international organisation to enhance regional economic integration by establishing the RCEP agreement.

Bahasa Abstract

Perjanjian RCEP merupakan perjanjian perdagangan bebas terbesar saat ini yang meliputi sepuluh negara anggota ASEAN dan negara mitra dagangnya dengan mencakup sekitar 30% dari total PDB dunia. Sebagai organisasi internasional di kawasan Asia Tenggara, ASEAN memiliki keinginan untuk meningkatkan integrasi ekonomi regionalnya, salah satunya melalui perjanjian RCEP. Artikel ini bertujuan untuk membahas bagaimana upaya ASEAN untuk meningkatkan integrasi ekonomi regional melalui peran-peran yang dilakukannya dalam proses pembentukan perjanjian RCEP. Penulis menggunakan teori peran oleh Lisbeth Aggestam (2006) yang mengemukakan empat konsep peran, yakni role expectation, role conception, role performance, dan role-set. Penelitian dilakukan dengan menggunakan metode kualitatif yang dilakukan melalui penelaahan dokumen, termasuk buku, jurnal, dan data mendukung lainnya. Penelitian ini menemukan bahwa ASEAN telah memenuhi berbagai peran yang dimilikinya sebagai organisasi internasional selama proses pembentukan RCEP untuk memungkinkan berjalannya perjanjian ini, termasuk memenuhi harapan dari pihak eksternal, merealisasikan tujuan dari ASEAN, responsif dalam kondisi yang berubah-ubah, dan mewujudkan konsep sentralitas ASEAN. Melalui penelitian ini, dapat diketahui bahwa ASEAN berhasil memenuhi peran-perannya sebagai organisasi internasional untuk meningkatkan integrasi ekonomi regional melalui terbentuknya perjanjian RCEP.

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