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This volume is a collection of the best essays of Professor Benjamin Miller on the subjects of international and regional security. The book analyses the interrelationships between international politics and regional and national security, with a special focus on the sources of international conflict and collaboration and the causes of war and peace. More specifically, it explains the sources of intended and unintended great-power conflict and collaboration. The book also accounts for the sources of regional war and peace by developing the concept of the state-to-nation balance. Thus the volume is able to explain the variations in the outcomes of great power interventions and the differences in the level and type of war and peace in different eras and various parts of the world. For example, the book's model can account for recent outcomes such as the effects of the 2003 American intervention in Iraq, the post-2011 Arab Spring and the conflicts between Russia and Ukraine. The book also provides a model for explaining the changes in American grand strategy with a special focus on accounting for the causes of the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Finally, the book addresses the debate on the future of war and peace in the 21st century. This book will be essential reading for students of international security, regional security, Middle Eastern politics, foreign policy and IR.

Since the end of WWII, states have formed several international organizations dealing with international peace and security issues. Among them are the Security Council, the Conference on Disarmament, the Arms Trade Treaty regime, and the First Committee of the United Nations General Assembly. Although regional actors, such as Economic Community of West African States, European Union or the Arab League, are at best observers in those international security organizations (ISO), their member states frequently get active on their behalf. This paper examines how regional actors engage in ISO negotiations. It shows that not all regional actors are equally vocal in the negotiations, which is puzzling given that negotiation activity is important for negotiation success. To explain the variance in regional actor vocality, this paper draws on international conflict and cooperation theories and develops hypotheses on activity of regional actors in international negotiations, which are tested with quantitative methods. It is striking that even in the traditionally state-dominated policy field 'security', regional actors are vocal and are, thus, contributing to the creation of international peace architectures. However, the role of regional actors varies, depending on the characteristics of the negotiation arena and of the regional actors themselves.

chapter Introduction -- chapter 1 International organizations in regional security -- part PART I: Africa -- chapter 2 African Union (AU) -- chapter 3 Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) -- chapter 4 Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) -- chapter 5 Southern African Development Community (SADC) -- part PART II: Americas -- chapter 6 Organization of American States (OAS) -- part PART III: Asia -- chapter 7 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) -- chapter 8 Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) -- chapter 9 League of Arab States (LAS) -- chapter 10 Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) -- part PART IV: Europe -- chapter 11 European Union (EU) -- chapter 12 North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) -- chapter 13 Conclusions.

Presents a systematic study of the capacities of some of the most recognized intergovernmental organizations with a security mandate. This book examines organizational capacity, resource capacity, and operational experience of each organization. It offers a comparative analysis of the major regional security institutions.

A great diversity of points of view on international security, one of the most current subjects in the area of international relations, coexist in Latin America and the Caribbean. This region is immersed in an interesting debate in which reticence and enthusiasm coexist and confront themselves in order to enlarge the functions of regional mechanisms of security, or to evaluate experiences acquired either through UN action or recent tendencies of the Security Council. The center of debate is also found in the impossible to ignore role of the United States. Does the end of the Cold War modify the U.S. interests in Latin America in the field of security? Should existing mechanisms of collective security in the region be strengthened? Or should new alternatives be found? How far is a shared agenda for security, not only with the United States but also between the countries in Latin America itself, and among them and the Caribbean, possible or desirable? How acceptable are the new tendencies of the multilateral organizations in the field of security of the countries in the region? These are some of the questions that this book deals with from different points of view. It presents a new perspective on the contemporary debate over international security in Latin America and the Caribbean. -- Provided by publisher.

Energy security may be defined, generally, as the availability of clean
energy sources at affordable prices. If a country or region does not have its
own sources of energy in the necessary extent, their energy security is in a
long-term threat. To this point, countries seek to achieve diversification of
energy sources and transport routes. This is one of the reasons for launching
new energy projects in Europe and Asia; the other is an attempt by Russia to
consolidate its dominant position on the part of the international energy
market; the third factor is the oil transnational corporations. Russia is the
dominant natural trading partner and Europe?s energy supplier. Problems with
the transit of natural gas and oil from Russia to Europe, which directly
threaten its energy security, were the reason to launch the new energy
projects.