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 very uncertain, post-Cold War landscape. As Secretary-General Boutros BoutrosGhali declared in 1992, “In this new era of opportunity, regional arrangements or agencies can render great service if their activities are undertaken in a manner consistent with the Purposes and Principles of the Charter, and if their relationship with the United Nations, and particularly the Security Council, is governed by Chapter VIII.”1 This enthusiasm reflected several factors,2 but one was a widespread view in the global South that postcolonial states ought to be allowed to resolve their own problems without interference from the major powers. It followed that regions should take the lead in managing regional security.
