Promises and Perils of Regional Organizations in Southeastern Europe: Lessons Learned from SEDM and SEEBRIG

Year 2016, Volume: 4 Issue: 4, 108 - 114, 29.12.2016

Hakan Sahin

Abstract

Regional organizations are one of the most important
demonstrations of the high level economic and political cooperation between
states. Today, in the international arena, there are numerous regional organizations
shaped by the regional conditions and the regionalist perceptions of the
founder states. This study explores the lessons learned from the experiences of
Southeastern Europe Defence Ministerial (SEDM) Process and its
operational/military body, namely Southeastern Europe Brigade (SEEBRIG). It
analyzes the challenges and limits which those initiatives face and explores the motivations for the
current attempts in different problematic areas. For this aim, firstly a
conceptual framework for the integration projects and regional organizations
are provided. Then, a brief examination on SEDM and SEEBRIG and their
historical performance is depicted. A number of lessons learned that can be
drawn from the unique and common experiences of the SEDM Process and SEEBRIG as
a multinational/regional military body is represented afterward. Main issues are then examined under the bullets of the concept of military operation, clear and functional mandate, international
credibility, the degree of both
commitment and cohesiveness among members, the institutional identity, and
organizational structure.

Keywords

SEDM, SEEBRIG, Southeastern Europe, regionalization, regional organization

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