Identity Mutual-Construction And Regional Public Goods’ Supply: Indonesia’s Construction Of Regional Leadership In Southeast Asian Regionalism

In the context of globalization and regionalism, nation states gather different kinds of dynamic identities. The existing research about the logic of identity-constructing emphasize a certain kind of identity’s forming foundations and application methods, while to different identities, these research explain the transformation from one identity to another. It means that existing research ignore the mutual-construction relationship among different identities, especially to one certain state. This thesis argues that this mutual-construction relationship is an effective way to explain state’s compound identities, and to explain the logic of identity mutual-construction, we should give our logic of identity-constructing. In the face of insufficient research about the latter logic, this thesis gives an explanation way about identity-constructing, "presence→identity (interest+preference)→ behavior/role →status ", which lays identity in one end and status in the other end, via role and behavior, and this thesis names the logic "identity statuslization". The logic aims to explaining the relationship of one actor’s different identities, remarking how some certain identities act on actor’s behavior and interaction, while behavior and interaction reflecting the mutual-construction of identities. The logic also answers the reason, process and result of mutual-construction. To show the logic, This thesis uses it to some certain identity.Based on the concept of "identity statuslization", this thesis focuses on the level of region and the identity of regional power and states the way form regional power identity to regional leadership. Mutual-construction of identities and regional public goods are two basic variable of regional power’s identity statuslization, and the latter is effective carrier to explain the process of regional leadership. Considering the factor of mutual-constructing, the role of regional power in the supply of regional public goods combines the traditional supplier and the new transformer, the former means regional power’s initiative in idea and sponsor and operation in behavior, the latter means regional power’s producing inter-regional public goods and/or international public goods into regional utility, including international and inter-regional public goods both dominated by extra power and covering the region, and the international and inter-regional public goods both dominated by the regional power itself and concerning or covering the region.Further on the macro-concept foundation and mid-analysis framework, this thesis will make a case study, in which Indonesia is the main study object, the relationship between regional power and middle power is the main object of mutual-constructing, regional leadership status is the objective of Indonesia’s identity statuslization. And this thesis focuses on crisis in Southeast Asia(SA) as time point, on the relationship between regional power identity and middle power identity in the process of Indonesia’s seeking for regional leadership, on the former relationship’connection with regional public goods’supply and transformation, on the identities’ mutual-constructing and regional public goods" supply and transformation influence on regional leadership process.In the main body, firstly, the thesis analyses Indonesia’s behavior and role before and after the 1955 Bandung Conference, by which Indonesia started gather its regional and middle power identity, showing Indonesia’s role in shaping the conference and Bandung ten principles as regional public good, in filling the public good with power, institution and norm inclusion, and the public good has more norm meaning than historical meaning. Then, the thesis analyses Indonesia’s behavior and role in the initative, sponsor and running of ASEAN, the most regional public good in SA, by which Indonesia started its regional and middle power identity mutual-constructing, showing Indonesia’s role in shaping the ASEAN as regional public good, in filling the public good with power, institution and norm inclusion, we argue that as the main supplier of regional public goods, under the willing of being a leader, Indonesia act as a benevolent hegemony. Finally, this thesis Indonesia’s behavior and role in the G20 and MIKTA before and after the 1997-1998 SA financial crisis and 2008 global financial crisis, by which Indonesia focuses its regional and middle power identity mutual-constructing in region and security, showing Indonesia’s role in transforming the G20 and MIKTA as international and inter-regional publics into regional public good, in filling them with power, institution and norm inclusion, through which Indonesia is becoming a S A regional leader.