Regionalism in Latin American Thought and Practice

Abstract

Latin American integrative attempts have been a constant since the early 19th century even if they have not been very successful. This chapter contends that in the region’s efforts at region-building, even when they have an ostensibly economic nature, identity matters, more than interests, are the explanatory factor that has been doing most of the work. Hence the repeated attempts at integration. This chapter is composed of four vignettes: the first one is mostly analytical, serving to set the terms of the empirical cases that follow. It delineates the central concept of this chapter, regionalism; it also provides a brief historical background on Latin America’s regionalist practice in the 20th century. The next three vignettes depict instances of integrative efforts in which Latin American countries have been involved since the 1990s: the South American Common Market (Mercosur), the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA) and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC). The chapter concludes with a brief section presenting a constructivist reading that emphasizes ideational matters in order to help us understand Latin America’s perennial integrationist toils.