Regional organizations (ROs) areinternational organizations (IOs) whose membership is limited to states within a single geographic region. They have been established to foster cooperation and political andeconomic integration or dialogue among states within a region. They vary from loose cooperation arrangements to formalregional integration.[1] Since their formal emergence after the end ofWorld War II, they have become increasingly numerous and influential, often working closely with other multilateral organizations such as theUnited Nations.[2]
Examples of ROs include, amongst others, theAfrican Union (AU),Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN),Arab League (AL),Arab Maghreb Union (AMU),Caribbean Community (CARICOM),Council of Europe (CoE),Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU),European Political Community (EPC),European Union (EU),South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC),Shanghai Cooperation Organisation,Asian-African Legal Consultative Organization (AALCO),Union for the Mediterranean (UfM),Union of South American Nations (USAN).
