Localization as Resistance: The Contested Diffusion of Small Arms Norms in Southeast Asia

Over the last decade, a range of actors have pressed for states and regional organizations to take action against the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons. Some regional bodies have responded with comprehensive plans of action and impressive policy responses; others have done very little. This article examines the 'patchy' response of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). It looks at how ASEAN played a mediating role between global norm entrepreneurs seeking to promote small arms norms in the region and member-states that opposed many of their goals. Unlike much of the scholarship on norms, which focuses on the origins and 'export' of principled ideas, this article builds on the emerging literature on norm localization, in particular exploring the way global and local actors contest the content and framing of a norm as it is diffused. It argues that ASEAN officials localized small arms as a transnational crime and counter-terrorism issue in a deliberate strategy designed to limit the scope and effect of the norm. Linking small arms action to 'transnational' issues permitted and even encouraged some action, but also served to close off discussion of sensitive 'internal' issues, such as military and police complicity in unlawful weapons transfers, and ruled out transparency measures that could impact on the legal arms trade. This reframing made small arms norms congruent with ASEAN's normative consensus based on the fundamental principle of non-interference in members' internal affairs.