Regions and Powers: The Structure of International Security

Barry Buzan, Ole Wæver

Cambridge University Press, Dec 4, 2003 - Political Science - 564 pages

This book develops the idea that since decolonisation, regional patterns of security have become more prominent in international politics. The authors combine an operational theory of regional security with an empirical application across the whole of the international system. Individual chapters cover Africa, the Balkans, CIS Europe, East Asia, EU Europe, the Middle East, North America, South America, and South Asia. The main focus is on the post-Cold War period, but the history of each regional security complex is traced back to its beginnings. By relating the regional dynamics of security to current debates about the global power structure, the authors unfold a distinctive interpretation of post-Cold War international security, avoiding both the extreme oversimplifications of the unipolar view, and the extreme deterritorialisations of many globalist visions of a new world disorder. Their framework brings out the radical diversity of security dynamics in different parts of the world.

Contents

• Theories and histories about the structure of contemporary international security: 6
• A brief modern history of regional security: 14
• the different state legacies of regional security complexes: 20
• Conclusions: 26
• Levels distinguishing the regional from the global The how and why of distinguishing the regional from the global level: 27
• The problem of polarity postCold War: 30
• Conclusions: 37
• Security complexes a theory of regional security: 40
• Security at the regional level: 43
• main variables: 45
• a matrix for area studies: 51
• scenarios: 65
• constructivist method and the wider agenda of securitisation studies: 70
• Place in the literature: 77
• Conclusions: 83
• Asia: 91
• Introduction: 93
• South Asia inching towards internal and external transformation: 101
• continuity or transformation?: 105
• Conclusions: 124
• Northeast and Southeast Asian RSCs during the Cold War: 128
• The domestic level: 129
• The regional level: 130
• The interregional level: 136
• The global level and East Asia: 138
• Conclusions: 142
• The 1990s and beyond an emergent East Asian complex: 144
• The domestic level: 145
• The subcomplex level: 152
• The regional level: 155
• an expanding supercomplex: 164
• The global level: 166
• Conclusions: 170
• scenarios for the Asian supercomplex: 172
• Conflict formation: 174
• Security regime: 175
• The Middle East and Africa: 183
• Introduction: 185
• The Middle East a perennial conflict formation: 187
• The postCold War peace process and its failure: 201
• Conclusions: 215
• SubSaharan Africa security dynamics in a setting of weak and failed states: 219
• The domestic level: 224
• The regional level: 229
• The interregional level: 248
• The global level: 249
• Conclusions: 252
• Conclusions: 254
• The Middle East: 256
• Interplay between the Middle East and Africa: 258
• The Americas: 261
• Introduction: 263
• North America the sole superpower and its surroundings: 268
• The formation of an RSC in North America: 270
• The structure of the Cold War RSC: 283
• Security in North America after the Cold War: 288
• Conclusions: 301
• South America an underconflictual anomaly?: 304
• The origins and character of the RSC: 305
• The Cold War: 311
• PostCold War changes: 320
• Conclusions: 337
• scenario for the RSCs of the Americas: 340
• The Europes: 341
• Introduction: 343
• Formation of the European RSC: 345
• Operation of the RSC until 1989: 346
• EUEurope the European Union and its near abroad: 352
• European security during the Cold War: 353
• the EU core: 356
• Securitisation in the eastern circles: 364
• The outer circles of EUEurope: 368
• Regional institutions and traditional security: 370
• EUEuropes global standing selfsecuring? interregionally active? global power?: 372
• Conclusions: 374
• The Balkans and Turkey: 377
• Emergence of the main Balkan units: 379
• Security dynamics in Southeastern Europe after the dissolution of Yugoslavia: 384
• the Balkans as Europe: 386
• Turkey: 391
• Conclusions: 395
• The postSoviet space a regional security complex around Russia: 397
• History before 1991: 398
• Evolution of the RSC 19912002: 403
• Conclusions: 435
• scenarios for the European supercomplex: 437
• Conclusions: 441
• Introduction: 443
• Regions and powers summing up and looking ahead: 445
• the outlook for RSCs: 448
• Global level dynamics: 455
• Reflections on conceptualising international security: 461
• Comparing regions: 468
• The advantages of the regionalist approach to security: 480
• Problems in applying regional security complex theory: 483
• Glossary: 489
• References: 493
• News media: 541
• Index of names: 543
• General index: 546

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About the author

Barry Buzan is Professor of International Relations at the LSE. Ole Wæver is Professor of International Relations at the Department of Political Science, University of Copenhagen.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Regions and Powers: The Structure of International Security; Volume 91 of Cambridge Studies in International Relations, ISSN 0959-6844
• Authors: Barry Buzan, Ole Wæver
• Edition: illustrated, reprint
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2003
• ISBN: 0521891116, 9780521891110
• Length: 564 pages
• Subjects: Political Science / Intergovernmental Organizations; Political Science / International Relations / General; Political Science / Security (National & International); Political Science / World / General