The Limits and Achievements of Regional Governance in Security: NORDEFCO and the V4

The Polish Institute of International Affairs is an analytical institution established by an act of Parliament in 1996 to carry out research and provide expertise in international affairs. PISM disseminates information on contemporary international issues and maintains contacts with academic and political centres in Poland and abroad. The Institute runs courses for public servants, maintains a library (open to the public; 165,000 books and journals), organises conferences, and publishes books, periodicals and documents on Polish foreign policy and international matters.

The funding for PISM comes from the budget. The director is appointed by the prime minister for a term of five years, following consultation with the minister of foreign affairs. The minister supervises the Institute and appoints its advisory council, which includes a representative of the President of the Republic of Poland, academics and officials.Both Norway and Poland have engaged in regional security and defence cooperation projects: NORDEFCO and the Visegrad Group (V4), respectively. Such initiatives are seen as a promising method for reinforcing military capabilities in a time of deep cuts in defence budgets among the EU Member States. The record of NORDEFCO and the V4 remains, though, rather modest, particularly when compared to the ambitious declarations made at their beginnings. Both cooperation formats have proved effective with regards to less-complicated projects, such as those involving military education, training or logistics. However, common procurement and real integration in some capability areas has turned out to be too difficult. Yet, these failures have helped to identify factors that may make success more likely, and this result is shared by both NORDEFCO and the V4, despite the structural differences between these two mechanisms of security governance.