Regional organizations and security governance: a comparative assessment of IGAD and ASEAN

The security functions of regional organizations have been greatly enhanced in the post-Cold War period, but they are determined by a host of external and internal factors. In this paper the security functions of two regional organizations, the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), are examined from a comparative standpoint. It is amply demonstrated that the efforts of regional countries to pacify the conflict ridden Horn of Africa region through IGAD continue to be frustrated by long-standing practices of mutual intervention, shifting alliances, and an inability to develop shared norms regarding security governance. In contrast to IGAD and many other regional organizations in the developing world, ASEAN has a better track record in the maintenance of regional security in South East Asia. The key to the success of ASEAN in regional security governance lies in its development of norms proscribing mutual intervention and encouraging the use of quiet diplomacy in the resolution of disputes. It is hoped that this will furnish better understanding of both organizations and provide insights that will contribute to academic and policy debates on regionalism in the third World.