Regional Organizations

Examples of Regional Organizations

• OAS (Organization of American States)

• AU (African Union)

• OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe)

• ASEAN (Association of South-East Asian Nations)

• The Arab League

• OIC (Organization of the Islamic Conference)

Characteristics of Regional Organizations

• Broad range of formal capabilities

• Broad range of functional effectiveness

• Most designed to some degree as mini-UNs

– To deal with regional issues as locally as possible

– To keep the UN’s agenda under control

– To promote the particular issues of member countries

Regional Organizations #2

• OAS and AU are the broadest of the group

– Most like mini-UNs

– OAS has superpower issues

• ASEAN and the OSCE more limited forums

– Although the OSCE is becoming more active

• Regional IOs can have membership overlap

– E.g. the AU, the Arab League, and the OIC

The EU and NATO

• Both special cases

• European Union

– Part supranational organization

• North Atlantic Treaty Organization

– Military alliance

African Union

• Why change from the OAU to the AU?

• What is it?

– Combination of the OAU and the AEC

• The AU’s goals

– From the Constitutive Act of the African Union

Limits of the AU

• Financial limits

• Political limits