Imagined (security) communities: Cognitive regions in international relations

This article examines security communities as cognitive regions. It introduces the notions of 'cognitive region' and 'community-region', discussing and redefining Karl Deutsch's concept of security community as a special instance of a 'cognitive region'. The article suggests a constructivist explanation for the relationship between pluralistic security communities and liberal ideas, discussing the relationship between knowledge, power, and community, to elucidate how material and socio-cognitive factors construct of security communities. It examines the role shared identities play in how pluralistic security communities evolve, arguing that sovereign states, in the process of becoming representatives of a larger community may ultimately redefine their interests and the meaning of sovereignty. Subsequently, the article argues that the social construction of pluralistic security communities may depend on pre-existing security community-building institutions. Using the OSCE as an example, the article concludes that the institution exhibits attributes conducive to building a pluralistic security community. It ends with some thoughts about the relevance of security communities for IR theory.