For a region where the member countries are still at different developmental stages, are culturally diverse, and have different strategic goals, achieving the ASEAN community will be a challenging task. It will require ASEAN members to balance human security against other national economic and political security goals. This thesis explores the origins, evolution and prospects for the ASEAN Social and Cultural Community. It examines the challenges to implementation, illustrating these with a focus on the case of Vietnam and efforts by Vietnam’s national agencies to advance ASCC objectives.