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The enlargements in the 1990's and the 2000's of both ASEAN and EU have led to considerable changes of these regional organisations. In both cases, the new member states were considered to be “ backward states ” and “ weak states ” . However, far from being marginalized, new member states were paradoxically able to reinforce their sove- reignty. In this context, this article argues that new member states were able to limit the hegemony exerted by old member states, by insisting on shared regional values and identities. Thereby, they transformed their initial “ weakness ” into “ strength ”
