ABSTRACT
As the number and scope of regional organisations has spread over the last 20 years, 2 the way regional organisations conceptualise security and practise their collective duties has become a focus of attention. The extent to which regional organisations conceive and implement functions of collective security governance has been studied on three levels. First, work has been undertaken on the goals and principles of regional organisations and their institutional mechanisms and autonomy, 3 as well as on the perception of threats by regional organisations and the instruments chosen to respond to the perceived threats. 4 Second, scholarly work has been conducted on the extent to which regional organisations perform security functions, in other words whether they cover the full range of policies of prevention, assurance, protection and compellence, or concentrate on one or a few security aspects. 5 Third, analysis has been put forward on how the member states enable regional organisations to produce collective security goods, particularly in the case of NATO 6 and the EU. 7
