Emerging Subregional Cooperation Processes: South-Eastern Europe, The Newly Independent States and the Mediterranean

Abstract

One of the central theses of this book is that, despite and in part because of their low profile, the existing subregional groups in the Barents-Black Sea belt are success stories. In various ways they have contributed to the development of cooperative relations and the building of shared interests and a sense of common security in their respective subregions, but also in Europe more widely. The cooperative character of these groups and their avoidance of overt, potentially divisive security issues also enables them to play an important if low key role in mitigating and cushioning the inevitable dividing lines resulting from the enlargement of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Union (EU). The relative success of these groups clearly raises the issues of whether similar subregional groups or processes could or should emerge elsewhere in Europe, and what lessons there may be for new subregional groups and processes in Europe (and beyond) from the experience of the groups in the Barents-Black Sea belt.

The section of this chapter on South-Eastern Europe was written by Sophia Clement, that on the Newly Independent States by Ian Bremmer, that on the Mediterranean by Thanos Dokos and the introduction and conclusion by Andrew Cottey.