At the core of this study there lays a paradigm that existing explanation of regionalism and inter-regionalism process neglect the essential, and arguably the most advanced level of it – the cognitive level of regionalism. The theoretical contribution of this study is the concept of “cognitive”/ conscious regionalism”. This dissertation argues that without that element, regional and inter-regional cooperation cannot be advanced and they remain shallow processes. This study argues that the gap between Asia and Europe is a cognitive one, rather than physical. The Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) has been facing severe criticism because of the low effectiveness of its governance. This dissertation explains the reason behind the limits of ASEM in looking into the deeper levels that determine the inter-regional cooperation: level of cognition of the actors involved. The research not only explains the limits but also identifies the contributions of the ASEM as a bridge between the regions and their peoples’. Creating the venue for interaction contributes to the realization and awakening of the perception of what is “Asia” and what is “Europe” in Asia-Europe Meeting. Incorporating cultural and intellectual agenda of cooperation and including the civil society into the process not only creates the mutual understanding and acquisition of exchanged knowledge but also to pluralization of actors involved in the inter-regional process. Both in terms of actors and of cultural factors of cooperation, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) plays the pivotal role in the ASEM process. The process of sustainable interaction shows institutional learning happening between ASEAN and ASEM that proves the idea of acquisition cognition through interaction also between institutions. This dissertation’s theoretical contribution is offering the concept of ‘cognitive regionalism’. Cognitive regionalism is explained and analyzed through ideas of awakening, acquisition and affiliation. The analysis is done on four levels of inter-regional, sub-regional, member government and civil society. The aspects included in these levels are: regional identity formation, institutional representation, member government’s commitment to ASEM process and civil society inclusiveness in “bottom-up” inter-regionalism. The empirical contribution of this research is in the richness of extensive interviews with various stakeholders including Track 1, 1½, 2 and 3 representatives from both across Asia and Europe. Methodology is a combination of interpretative, policy-tracing of official documents, official press releases and an essential participatory observation and field work. The originality of this study is twofold: (1) the comprehensive explanation of the role of culture, and norms in the inter-regional cooperation focusing on the third pillar of ASEM particularly and (2) taking the ASEAN’s perspective in analysis.