ABSTRACT
This chapter begins with a brief discussion of the reasons underlying the interest in security regionalism. It discusses the dynamics of the two key variables—regionalism and security. The chapter discusses the relevance of the assets of regionalism for conflict prevention, containment and termination at the international and domestic levels. In addition to these developments, interest in security regionalism has also been stimulated by economic regionalism, particularly in Europe and East Asia. Regional international relations, regionalisation of world politics, regional conflicts, and changes in the interests and policies of regional states are quite distinct from regionalism. Regionalism at the intramural level may be able to mitigate the insecurity deriving from the anarchic structure of the international system, but its potential to deal with the policy-driven power struggle component of the security dilemma, at least to begin with, will be limited.
