Security Regionalism in Theory and Practice

The aim of this chapter is to clarify the meaning of ‘security regionalism’ or the regional dimensions of security. Due to globalization and the end of the Cold War the world order is moving beyond national sovereignty. Post-sovereign political rationality assumes that solutions to problems of security must be found in transnational structures. Security itself is becoming increasingly complex, even if the threat to physical security remains in focus. Mortal threats can come from different sources and levels of society, domestic as well as international. The purpose of regional peacekeeping is precisely to prevent the spread of local conflicts. Conflict management is consequently getting internationalized, whether on a global or regional level. From having been seen as a rival approach to universalism or globalism the regional level has become increasingly important, judging from recent literature. In case of ‘complex humanitarian emergencies’ caused by serious human rights violations, this includes external intervention in what was called ‘domestic’ affairs; perhaps the most dramatic and controversial aspect of post-sovereignty. An increasing number of interventions are regional rather than multilateral and this chapter tries to explain why this is the case.