Regional organisations’ involvement in peace and security endeavours continue to deepen as increasing collaboration between the United Nations and regional organisations grows, and as the international community’s search for abiding peace enters a new stage with the doctrine of responsibility to protect (R2P). The security challenges facing the world in the 21^st Century are as diverse as their nature and impact. From playing decisive roles in peacekeeping to endless prevarication while their member States burn, regional organisations have both been celebrated and admonished for their courageous efforts and the ghastly lack of it in dealing with peace and security in their regions. In the same way, the manner in which the UN, especially through the Security Council, has collaborated, or failed to do so, with regional organisations continues to generate interesting debates.     

This programme aims at conducting cutting-edge research on the contribution of the United Nations and regional organisations to global peace and security. It focuses especially on an appreciation of the legal and practical dynamics of that relationship and tracks how the UN and regional organisations distribute roles and jointly operate in implementing their mandates in conflicts and other situations.

Four research topics are presently addressed:

• The European Union as a Global Regional Actor in Security and Peace
• The Role of the African Union in Peace and Security
• UN-EU-AU Cooperation in Peace and Security: History, Structure and Case studies
• Multicolor Helmets: Peacekeeping in Constrained Environments