ABSTRACT
The end of the Cold War brought considerable enthusiasm concerning the potential role of regional organizations in generating peace and security in a very promising, but also very uncertain, post-Cold War landscape. This chapter examines the contribution of regional organizations to global security governance since the end of the Cold War. It deals with conceptual, legal, and historical background to the issue. The chapter presents an overview of regional organizations' engagement with peace operations and broader governance of security in the twenty-seven years since the end of the Cold War. It considers the interface between regional and global security governance. There has clearly been a step-change in the role of regional organizations in security governance after the Cold War. It is useful to analyze this expansion in terms of organizational mandates and of operations. The general observations conceal great diversity in the capabilities and competence of regional organizations to contribute to global security governance.
