Multilateralism and Concepts of Security in South America

Abstract

Security in South America: The Role of States and Regional Organizations is the last of a four-part study by Rodrigo Tavares that examines regional security scenarios across the globe, with a focus on the role played by regional organizations in each context. Its origin as part of a study that seeks breadth of coverage across regional contexts goes a long way toward explaining both its strengths and its weaknesses. South America—to the extent that it can usefully be treated as a coherent security complex—has long been notable for the gap between its interstate and domestic security dynamics. Traditional approaches to security have been notoriously unable adequately to capture and address the violent phenomena that have greatest effect on the everyday lives of those living in the region. Thus, it is refreshing that Tavares grounds the book, in its four initial chapters, in a sophisticated and up-to-date review of security concepts, culminating in the juxtaposition of the traditional and human security that spans the volume's numerous case studies.