Reinventing Regional Security Institutions In Asia And Africa

Regional security institutions play a significant role in shaping the behavior of existing and rising regional powers by nurturing security norms and rules, monitoring state activities, and sometimes imposing sanctions, thereby formulating the configuration of regional security dynamics. Yet, their security roles and influence do not remain constant. Their raison d’etre, objectives, and functions experience sporadic changes, and some institutions upgrade military functions for peacekeeping operations, while others limit their functions to political and security dialogues. The question is: why and how do these variances in institutional change emerge? This book explores the mechanisms of institutional change, focusing on regional security institutions led by non-great powers. It constructs a theoretical model for institutional change that provides a new understanding of their changing roles in regional security, which has yet to be fully explored in the International Relations field. In so doing, the book illuminates why, when, and how each organization restructures its role, function, and influence. Using case studies of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and the Organization of African Unity (OAU)/ African Union (AU), it also sheds light on similarities and differences in institutional change between regional security institutions.

This book aims to examine the conceptions and practices of security adopted by Regional Organisations (ROs) across the globe. Since the end of the Cold War, there has been an increased focus on regions as a relevant realm for security, with actors within regional contexts identifying a significant degree of interdependency between one another. As a consequence, international security has taken on a distinct regionally institutionalised character, as seen by the increase in calls for greater utilisation of ‘Chapter VIII: Regional Arrangements’ of the UN, in order to create a devolved UN-led system of global security management. However, the idea of a system of global security management is a remote prospect, because divergence seems to be as important as commonality in terms of regional security. In light of the above, Regional Organisations and Security analyses the primary ROs that are active in Africa, Asia, Eurasia, the Middle East and South America. The findings of individual case studies are compiled to highlight disparities and similarities in how security is seen, prioritised, understood, practised, managed and implemented across regions. On this basis, the authors reach conclusions about whether we live in an increasingly globalised or regionally distinct world, and go on to assess the prospects for a globalised system of security management and consider how this might be developed and organised. This book will be of interest to students of comparative regionalism, international organisations, international security and IR.

Regional organizations are an inescapable feature of global politics. Virtually all countries in the world are members of at least one regional or other intergovernmental organization. The involvement of international organizations in the realm of regional peace and security, and their cooperation in this domain with the United Nations, has reached an unprecedented level. Regional organizations have traditionally been formed around economic, political, or environmental objectives, however, over the last decades these organizations have gradually penetrated into the security sphere and developed their capacities in conflict prevention, peacekeeping, or post-war reconstruction. In Europe, Africa, Asia, or the Americas, regional and other intergovernmental organizations have been concurrently empowered by the UN and their own member states to maintain peace and security. Despite suffering from important discrepancies in both their mandates and capacities, regional organizations have become indisputable actors that play a role from the outbreak of a crisis to the reconstruction efforts in the aftermath of a conflict Presenting the most up-to-date critical and comparative analysis of the major regional security institutions, assessing a wide range of regional organizations and providing an accessible and comprehensive guide to 11 key organizations, this book is the first systematic study of the capacities of the most recognized intergovernmental organizations with a security mandate. Regional Security is essential reading for all students of international organizations, peace and security studies and global governance.

Regional security institutions play a significant role in shaping the behavior of existing and rising regional powers by nurturing security norms and rules, monitoring state activities, and sometimes imposing sanctions, thereby formulating the configuration of regional security dynamics. Yet, their security roles and influence do not remain constant. Their raison d’etre, objectives, and functions experience sporadic changes, and some institutions upgrade military functions for peacekeeping operations, while others limit their functions to political and security dialogues. The question is: why and how do these variances in institutional change emerge? This book explores the mechanisms of institutional change, focusing on regional security institutions led by non-great powers. It constructs a theoretical model for institutional change that provides a new understanding of their changing roles in regional security, which has yet to be fully explored in the International Relations field. In so doing, the book illuminates why, when, and how each organization restructures its role, function, and influence. Using case studies of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and the Organization of African Unity (OAU)/ African Union (AU), it also sheds light on similarities and differences in institutional change between regional security institutions.

Provides a fresh perspective on ASEAN's role for regional security in Southeast Asia.

A 2023 Choice Reviews Outstanding Academic Title This is the most up-to-date and comprehensive volume on the international relations of Asia and the Indo-Pacific. The Asian region has become the fulcrum of international relations globally—it is the most economically vibrant, geostrategically significant, socially and culturally diverse, and militarily dangerous region in the world. The world’s leading great powers—the United States and China—jockey for primacy and vie for influence throughout the region, while “middle powers”—India, Indonesia, Japan, and South Korea—are extending their regional reach. The ten-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is collectively important in its own right, but has also become the epicenter of US-China regional competition. While Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands largely operate in their own orbits, Australia has assumed growing regional impact. North Korea and Taiwan are both significant actors but they are also each tinderboxes of potential conflict. While the region is geographically sprawling across the Indo-Pacific, it is tied together economically, technologically, and strategically. No one working in or on Asia cannot afford to read this volume.

This book explores how the Quad Plus mechanism is set to reshape the global multilateral economic and security co-operations between Quad partner countries and the rest of the world. With the Quad partners – Australia, India, Japan and the United States – seeing deteriorating ties with China, the book provides a holistic understanding of the reasons why Quad Plus matters and what it means for the post-COVID Indo-Pacific and Asian order. It goes beyond the existing literature of the global Post-COVID reality and examines how Quad Plus can grow and find synergy with national and multilateral Indo-Pacific initiatives. The chapters analyze the mechanism’s uncharacteristic yet active approach of including countries like South Korea, Israel, Brazil, New Zealand and ASEAN/Vietnam for their successful handling of the pandemic crisis, thereby reshaping the new world’s geopolitical vision. A unique study focused solely on the intricacies and the broader dialogue of the ‘Quad Plus’ narrative, the book caters to strategic audiences as well as academics researching International Relations, Politics, and Indo-Pacific and Asian Studies.

This book makes a case for a reorientation of the nuclear nonproliferation regime, posing an alternative conceptualization of nuclear order centered on the regional level. It draws on an array of theoretical tools from the literatures on regionalism, security governance, and international institutions, developing a framework that analyzes the conditions that would allow for more robust regional nuclear cooperation. These include the presence of (1) institutional architecture, (2) political, economic, and military relations among states, and (3) fundamental regional awareness and identity. Wan then deploys this theoretical approach to several case studies, including Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East, focusing on two interrelated questions. First, what is the viability of a stronger regional nuclear order in the region? Second, what form would such an order most likely take? In the process, the book identifies the magnitude and character of the proliferation challenge specific to each region. It also considers the existing character of nuclear cooperation at the regional level. Wan presents the historical development of regional nuclear order in Latin America as a model for the rest of the world. In this area, regional institutions—ranging from organizations to dialogues to ad hoc arrangements—gradually became more involved across economic, environmental, and human security domains, providing the foundation for multilateral cooperation in the nuclear arena. As his analysis shows, in light of the contemporary proliferation landscape, the establishment and strengthening of such regional nuclear orders is essential.