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Arctic Yearbook 2013
Regionalism and Globalisation
incentives for cooperation.
Assessing Regional Security Environment
The Elusive Meaning of Security
Realist assumptions that once laid ground for the emergence of the Old Regionalism theory are
closely related to the understanding of the security environment. The very idea of security is
traditionally attributed to the nation-state and military power, and is generally understood as ―a
negative freedom – the absence of threat‖ (McSweeney, 1999: 14). The concept has evolved over
time into a broader idea, encompassing not only national but also international, societal, and
individual levels.
In order to grasp the contemporary understanding of security we must first turn to the idea of
global interdependence. Formulated (although not coined) by Keohane and Nye in 1977, this
concept explains that the state-centric approach does not suffice to explain the multiversity of the
international system; instead, a world politics paradigm should be applied (Keohane & Nye, 1981a;
Keohane & Nye, 1981b). In the introductory article Keohane and Nye (1981a) give reasons for such
a change: the emergence of global transnational interactions involving non-governmental actors (as
opposed to conventionalist interstate interactions, managed solely by governments), and the
strengthening of the role played by transnational organisations. Their definition of ―world politics‖
is formulated as ―all political interactions between significant actors‖ that are ―any somewhat
autonomous individual or organisation that controls substantial resources and participates in
political relationships with other actors across state lines‖ (Keohane & Nye, 1981a: xxiv).
Keohane and Nye accept that realism and state-centricity constitute ―an inadequate basis for the
study of changing world politics‖ as ―they do not describe the complex patterns of coalitions
between different types of actors‖ (Keohane & Nye, 1981b: 386). The world politics paradigm the
authors propose embraces interaction on various levels – transnational, transgovernmental, as well as
interstate. Starting from this premise, Keohane and Nye turn to defining the role of
interdependence.
In
Power and Interdependence
Keohane and Nye (1989) describe the concept of interdependence as the
relationship between actors (adherent to different nation-states or nation-states themselves) based
on international transactions that have costly reciprocal effects. The existence of such effects is
crucial for the establishment of interdependence, whereas asymmetries in the cost of the effects
―are most likely to provide sources of influence for actors in their dealings with one another‖
(Keohane & Nye, 1989: 11). Thus, although the state of interdependence encompasses interests on
various levels (national, governmental, transnational), it does not automatically lead to patterns of
cooperation or diminish conflict. Quite the opposite, the actors are likely to (ab)use asymmetrical
interdependence relations to derive benefits from their dealing with others.
Barry Buzan (1983) attempts to establish ―the grounds for a broader view‖ (9-10) on security by
investigating interrelations of various security aspects. Following an extensive examination, he
concludes that ―[t]he concept of security binds together individuals, states and the international