The growing importance of regional security organizations has marked one of the most interesting and surprising trends in world politics in the last years. While only few regional security organizations existed in 1990, the number rose to thirty. Yet, it is controversial how this trend can be explained and what it means. Why are regional security organizations being initiated in the entire world since the middle of the 1990’s? Do they have the ability to create peace and stability in their regions? And if they prove to be capable of acting, what does their strengthening mean for global governance? Will they prove to be components of global governance or will they weaken the rules of global security order?
In PRIF-Report No. 7/2016 "Regionale Sicherheitsorganisationen als Barrieren oder Bausteine globalen Regierens", Matthias Dembinski considers these questions. In a first step, this report maps the phenomenon of regional security organizations. In a second step, it discusses three skeptical objections (lack of power, dependency, normative fragmentation). Concluding, the author specifies consequences for Germany and the EU.
The Report (in german) can be ordered at PRIF for 6€ and is also available as free PDF download.