ABSTRACT
The analytical framework of this book, hinted at in the first chapter, is founded on two sets of theoretical propositions. The first such point of departure concerns the subject area of the book and can be summarized in an argument that security in international relations is fruitfully studied on a regional level of analysis. In consequence, this is in essence an idea that security cannot be reduced to systemic logic or only understood through consecutive studies of bilateral security relationships at the inter-state level. On the contrary – while not ignoring these two levels of analysis, it is here hypothesized that there is also a regional dynamic of security interaction, which in the end may turn out to be the primary one. The second theoretical proposition is general in scope and inspired by both rationalist and constructivist reasoning. In essence, it is an argument that any political order (defined as a set of actors, institutions and relationships) consists of a set of interfaces which reflect the mutual recognition of the actors involved. Recognition, in turn, denotes a process through which actors establish their disposition towards each other. Recognition presumes actorness, which in this book is understood to follow from mutual perceptions of identity and power. Such perceptions result from considerations regarding material and ideational aspects of self, other and context as they play out in the concrete behaviour of actors. This chapter in consequence has two main ambitions. One is to elaborate the concept of regional security. For that purpose, regional security complex theory, as developed by Barry Buzan and Ole Wæver, is critically conceptualized and complemented by other works regarding the regional dimension of security as well as the variation in the character and quality of inter-state relations. The second ambition is to develop a general framework for the study of political interaction based on a combination of rationalist and constructivist reasoning. For that purpose, the central concepts of interface, recognition, actorness, identity and power will be elaborated on to some extent. The concluding analytical framework is conceptualized in general terms and may be applied to all cases of political interaction. In this book, the framework is utilized in a regional security
setting, more specifically regarding the European Union as an actor in European security matters. The EU does present a challenge by way of its hybrid nature (intergovernmental and supranational dimensions interacting), which is discussed in the final part of this chapter.
