Marty Natalegawa: Does ASEAN Matter? A View from WithinLukas Maximilian Müller

ASIEN – Nr. 154/155 (2020) pp. 173–75

ISEAS Publishing, 2018. 258 pp., S$39.90

Former Indonesian Foreign Minister (2009–2014) and former Director General for ASEAN Cooperation (2002–2005) Marty Natalegawa’s book “Does ASEAN Matter?” adds to a long line of memoirs by Indonesian politicians seeking to influence public perceptions of their achievements while in office. Serving during Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s second term as President, Natalegawa prominently guided Indonesia’s eventful 2011 ASEAN chairmanship. Publically, Yudhoyono’s second term is remembered as a relatively outward-looking period in terms of foreign policy. With this book, Natalegawa attempts to cement the perception of Indonesia as a regional leader within ASEAN…