I am conducting a relationship study between nationalist sentiments and attitudes towards regionalism initiative (or regional integration) based on public opinion survey. I found it is intriguing that rarely studies conducted on this issue. I tried to find such study on European Community (or Union), but got difficulties in finding any. Can you please inform me on such study?
I share your surprise that it is such an underresearched issue. If you search publications by Prof Andrei Zaslove in Nijmegen and Prof Isernia in Siena, you will come across contributions to the field of study.
I believe you seem focusing on economic integration not political. ASEAN is a economic grouping. Political integration such as European Council is very hard to achieve in South-East Asia. The reason is that there are many big powers involved in the dynamics of Asia. The states of Asia are having differing views as they would like to have relations with all the big powers such as the US, China, Russia, Japan and, India for safeguarding their national interests. National sentiments always strive to strengthen their national identity.
Cultural identities are fixed and states strive to strengthen them. On the contrary, States are constantly struggling to increase theirs' economic power so, they struggle for economic regionalism or integration which gradually brings about change in political identity or culture of states those trying for economic groupings.