Regional organizations (
ROs) are, in a sense,
international organizations (IOs), as they incorporate international membership and encompass
geopolitical entities that operationally transcend a single
nation state. However, their membership is characterized by boundaries and demarcations characteristic to a defined and unique geography, such as continents, or geopolitics, such as
economic blocs. They have been established to foster cooperation and political and economic integration or dialogue among states or entities within a restrictive geographical or geopolitical boundary. They both reflect common patterns of development and history that have been fostered since the end of
World War II as well as the fragmentation inherent in
globalization. Most ROs tend to work alongside well-established multilateral organizations such as the
United Nations. While in many instances a regional organization is simply referred to as an international organization, in many others it makes sense to use the term
regional organization to stress the more limited scope of a particular membership.