With "Regions and Powers," Buzan and Waever have restated and substantially extended their initial argument of securitization. Elevating regional security to a higher analytical status, the authors present a global map of regional security complexes, aiming at synthesising "realist" and "constructivist" insights along the way. Yet, by reverting to a negative interpretation of security, a materialist conceptualisation of structure and the attribution of process to the unit-level, the authors remain committed to (neo)realist categories undervaluing the impact of cultural factors on international life. A cultural approach to regional politics, it is argued in this article, would present an alternative picture, and would complement the methodology and empirical "operationalisation" of Buzan and Waever's theoretical statement.