This paper tries to understand the role of regional leaders in the process of regionalization of foreign and security policies. It argues that this cannot be understand by looking at ‘objective’ power relations or at ‘socialization processes’ as neorealists and neoliberals on the one hand, and constructivists on the other hand assert. Instead, the foreign policy of regional leaders in their region greatly depends on the historical representations that inform the practices of their diplomatic and military elites; in particular how the concepts of region, nation and borders have been constructed in the imaginary of the country. Therefore, the role regional leaders have in the process of regionalization is driven by their historical construction shaping their discourses and possible policy options – mediating their ‘material’ power and therefore their behaviour towards their neighbours and the region. It is thus important to look at the discourses of these elites which reflect their historical representations and trace these discourses to regional practices. Two cases studies are compared here to demonstrate how historical representations are shaping the policies of regional leaders and leading to particular practices: Nigeria in West Africa and Brazil in South America, two dominant countries in their respective region with nevertheless a very different policy towards integration. One policy area in particular is examined, the regional management of transnational threats such as drug and weapon trafficking, as it reflects directly the representations these states have of their borders and of the nation state.
