Publisher's Synopsis
Within the past decade, traditional regional security organizations formed during the Cold War have gradually been supplanted by more indigenous groupings designed specifically to address local security problems. Professor Tow argues that these subregional security organizations (SRSOs) have provided their members with a new self-confidence, encouraging them to formulate their common security interests and to face the ""outside"" world in a more unified fashion. Tow assesses the extent to which four subregional security organizations - the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), the Organization of East Caribbean States (OECS), and the Southern African Development Coordination Conference (SADCC) - have succeeded in meeting commonly defined security threats, in overcoming their members' political and economic vulnerabilities, and in compelling the major powers to accept the legitimacy of their regional security agendas. His final chapter focuses on the significance of SRSOs in the context of broader international security issues.
