The Security Governance of Regional Organizations

The Security Governance of Regional Organizations assesses the effectiveness of regional organizations as regional or global security providers, and examines how policy preferences, resources, capabilities, institutional mechanisms and economic and political cohesion link with collective action behaviour in four security policy functions. It investigates how regional organizations meet the new security threats or respond to strategic geopolitical changes and what adaptations they make in the process. Divided into three parts and using a common analytical framework, the book explains the changing security agenda in ten key regional organizations, each organizational chapter:

identifies the nature of threats within the region
examines the historical development and the degree of institutionalization
assesses the level of governance
explores the context of interaction
investigates the compliance with the norms of the system of governance.


This collection contributes to the ongoing reconceptualization of security and definition of security governance, and explores whether regional security governance processes are unique or similar and whether some organizational experiences can be seen as models for others to follow. It combines a coherent theoretical framework with strong comparative case studies, making it ideal reading for all students of security studies.

Emil J. Kirchner is Professor of European Studies and Jean Monnet Chair at the University of Essex. He is also Associate Editor of the Journal of European Integration.

Roberto Domínguez is Associate Professor in the Department of Government at Suffolk University, Boston. He is a research associate at the Miami European Union Center and was editor of the Journal Relaciones Internacionales (UNAM, Mexico).

1. Regional Organizations and Security Emil J. Kirchner & Roberto Dominguez Part I: Transatlantic Area 2. The EU as a Regional and Global Security Provider Emil J. Kirchner 3. Security Governance in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Roberto Dominguez 4. The OSCE as a Regional Security Actor: A Security Governance Perspective Nuray Ibryamova Part II: Western Hemisphere 5. Regional Security Governance in the Americas: the OAS Alejandro Chanona 6. The Caribbean Community's 'Fourth Pillar': the Evolution of Regional Security Governance Jessica Byron 7. Understanding the Complexities of Security Governance in the Andean Region Aimee Kanner Arias 8. MERCOSUR's Incipient Security Governance Andrea Oelsner Part III: Asia and Africa 9. Lessons from the ASEAN Regional Forum: Transcending the Image of Paper Tiger Katja Weber 10. The Shanghai Framwork and Central Asia: Chop-suey Governance? Imtiaz Hussain 11. The African Union and the Quest for Security Governance in Africa Olufemi Babarinde Conclusion 12. Performance of Regional Organizations in Security Governance Emil J Kirchner & Roberto Dominguez