Comparison regarding the international regionalism: The European Union and the association of the Southeast Asian Nations

iiABSTRACTRegional organizations are one of the most important demonstrations of thehigh level economic and political cooperation between states. Today, in theinternational arena, there are numerous regional organizations shaped by the regionalconditions and the regionalism perceptions of the founder states. The EuropeanUnion (EU), due to the intense economic and political cooperation realized, isconsidered as the most successful regional organization.The thesis attempts to compare the Association of the Southeast AsianNations (ASEAN), an important regional organization in the Asia-Pacific region,with the EU. The developments and causes that lay behind the establishment of aregional organization, the aims and principles stipulated by the constituting treaties,organizational structure and the decision-making procedures, enlargement processesand the dimensions of the economic and political cooperation are taken intoconsideration in the comparative evaluation of the EU and ASEAN.As the consequence of the evaluations, the similarities and the differencesbetween the EU and ASEAN are revealed. According to the results obtainedthroughout the evaluations, the thesis also tends to explore the similarities anddifferences between the West European and Southeast Asian regionalism perceptionsand to put an emphasis on the fact that the cooperation between states makespositive effects for their prosperity and security.