Citation

Laakso L. Round Table 2005; 94(381): 489-502.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2005, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/00358530500243567

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

African regional organizations' increasing activity in security policy is usually approached through the concept of ‘security community’, which can only partially clarify their difficult situation. A multi-level governance model is suggested as a more useful approach in a situation where economic cooperation is weak, member states' principles of governance diverge, and they themselves might be part of security problems. A security community is not a necessary condition for a regional organization to play a role in the field of security. Through new intra-regional and cross-level relationships with the international community and civil society, regional organizations can become important security actors in Africa.