Comparative regionalism: The political economy of regional security organizations

Regional and international organizations of the Global South experience a growing importance since for many political, social, and economic problems - that often at the same time have a high interdependence - national solutions are very often not sufficient, but regional or even global approaches must be found. The tasks and financial means assigned to them by their respective member countries vary. In addition to larger RECs with a broader order canon, there are various smaller organizations with a very specific range of tasks. Partly, the RECs are to some extent dependent on financial and technical support from donors, including for the financing of tasks related to ensuring peace and security.

This fact is reinforced, as in many cases the financial and technical capacities of individual Member States are restricted, especially in Africa. On behalf of the donors, powerful partners in the form of RECs are in their interest, because RECs are partly – often due to the lack of alternative partners - profiteers of significant contributions. Access to meaningful and transparent budget data over a longer period is therefore of utterly importance. The envisaged academic publication of comparative scale with views of the various organizations in Latin America, Africa, and Asia, which is foreseen to be published in the IH2018, would like to close a twin knowledge gap. First, very little is known about the functioning of RECs in the Global South, secondly, the implications of the most significant financial dependence on donors in relation to peace and security matters are not examined. As a result, one may expect also a demand for change in the financial and technical cooperation between donors and RECs around peace and security affairs.