Comparative Regional Security Institutions Asia To Africa

Power is the defining feature of international politics and security. As such, international relations scholars focus on great power-led regional institutions, such as the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), for their research, because those institutions possess 'power' in shaping international politics. However, there are so many other regional political/security institutions in the world, which begs an important question: what kind of power do regional security institutions that are not led by great powers have? This seminar aims to understand material and non-material power of non-great power-led regional institutions possess in shaping international and regional politics. To this end, the seminar offers you the in-depth knowledge of non-great power-led regional security institutions in the world, ranging from Asia to the Middle East to Latin America to South America. More specifically, the seminar explores their institutional history, objectives, and functions, exploring the applicability of the existing theoretical frameworks in the IR field. This seminar is geared toward those who are interested in secondary powers in international politics and security institutions.