When the East-West conflict ended, according to several specialists opened the opportunity for cooperation is stripped of political

and ideological character that had largely characterized for at least 40 years. It was assumed then, finally, international cooperation for development would be premised on fundamental and unique combat poverty and addresses the old problems that have impeded the development of the countries of the south. However, as one of the many effects produced by the global fight against terrorism since September 2001 international security considerations have gained an unprecedented boom in the international agenda. This has caused today's essential objectives related to fighting poverty and promoting financing for development purposes are linked to in the logic of security, and economic interests or geostrategic major powers. During the last decades, transnational crime has challenged the development of modern democracies in different regions of the globe. Not only international criminal networks have diversified areas (example is the rise of markets including drug trafficking, human trafficking, child trafficking, organ trafficking and smuggling of exotic species, etc.) but have also increased their organizational capacity and the use of violence, thus becoming a real threat to democratic governance and the rule of law, as well as economic and social development of local and regional contexts. From the standpoint of realism that believes that international cooperation is designed primarily if not exclusively, to defend the interests of the donor in the receiving State, that they are to increase their political influence, security, promote their respective trade and foreign investment. Thus, the help line is interpreted by this theory as a matter of power inseparable (Hook, Op 34). Various efforts have been deployed in the field of international cooperation. They are designed, signed and implemented bilateral or multilateral international treaties, and various inter-action plans in order to give a common response to this phenomenon.

At present there are certain circumstances that appear to be beneficial: the progressive advances in civil subordination of the armed forces, reductions in military spending (which lead to re-think some cost advantages of sharing the responsibility of defense) and international efforts towards the peaceful resolution of conflicts. Proof of this is, that today is an emerging regional security communities1. According to Karl W. Deutsch (1961: 98), a security community is defined by the following criteria:
A security community is a group of people That you Become integrated, where is defined as the integration of a sense of Attainment community, formal or informal Accompanied by Institutions or practices, strong and sufficiently It Widespread to peaceful change Assure Among Members of a group with reason over a long Period Certainty of time.

According to the concept of Deutsch, Adler and Barnett (1998: 30), indicate that a security community is a transnational region pluralist2 composed of sovereign states whose people maintain strong expectations of peaceful change. In a community thus defined, the role of the Armed Forces and is not to intimidate, but to protect States against external aggression Parties. Formal institutions treaties and other cooperative agreements, and informal level especially through the reduction of tensions in the area of security has been shaping a favorable scenario for the creation of a regional security community. Therefore, it seems necessary to perform the analysis from a new perspective, incorporating factors hitherto underestimated, but that can directly or indirectly influence the process of cooperation, especially if one considers that involved security policies not only military but also civilian government officials.

See Hurrell (1998), for a more critical: Hirst (1998) and Schmitter (1991), phlegm (2003a) provides a detailed discussion of the concept.
2

In a pluralistic security community states retain their independence and national sovereignty, while molten security communities (Amalgamated) are characterized by the formal political merger of its members.

The political elite plays a crucial role in regional cooperation processes: making policy decisions and sets the rules and the institutional framework of the integration system (Alcntara, 2000: 8). Their profile attitudinal, ideological and opinion has a significant impact on the process of security policy and the dynamics of the integration process as it affects the identification of constraints in the cost-benefit analysis and assessment political options3. In addition to their direct influence decisions in their respective political elites play an important role in shaping the political culture of each country, thus determining which behaviors are considered appropriate and what is not son4.

Adler, Emanuel y Michael Barnett. 1998. Security Communities. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. W. Steven Hook (1995), National Interest and Foreign Aid, Lynne Rieener, Washington. Hurrell, 264. Andrew (1998) "An Emerging Security Community in South

America?"Security Communities, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 228-

For a broader discussion on the influence of beliefs, ideas and arguments in the political process, see, among others, Fischer (2003), Hall (1989), Majone (1989), Stone (2002).
4

See: Research Team Parliamentary Elites (2001: 176).