It has been observed that “One of the most profound trends in global governance over the past two decades is the growing extent to which international institutions offer mechanisms for the participation of transnational actors.” These “inclusive institutions of global governance” offer private actors from the business sector and/or civil society with the possibility of formal participation, decision-making in the policy-making process.

As an organization, one of the primary objectives of ASEAN is the institution of an inclusive kind of governance.

During the 38th anniversary of ASEAN, Indonesia's President Yudhoyono underscored the need to “enlist the people into the cycle of planning, implementation, monitoring and re-planning of programs and projects”. While acknowledging the important role played by the business community and academia in the ASEAN process, he acknowledged that “the perspectives from the boardrooms and from the groves of academia are not the same as the view from the grassroots. And that grassroots view can make a difference.” He concluded his talk by suggesting that “We can and should empower the people to become co-authors if not the principal authors of their own development.”

Soesastro argued that second track networks and processes, which include research and strategic studies by institutes and other non-governmental participants, is an important institutional feature of ASEAN. In fact, three non-state actors (the business community, research community, and non-government organizations (NGOs)/civil society organizations (CSOs)) have had varying degrees of success in terms of participating in ASEAN processes.

In the 1990s, the ASEAN Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ASEAN-CCI) was the private sector voice in ASEAN. The ASEAN-CCI is comprised of national level chambers of commerce and industry from each of the ASEAN member countries. ASEAN-CCI representatives attended Senior Economic Officials' Meetings (SEOMs) and ASEAN Economic Ministers' (AEM) meetings and have been credited for helping design the ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (AFTA). But the ASEAN-CCI was eclipsed in 2001 when the ASEAN leaders established the ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ABAC).