South Regionalism Research Articles

Fissure in South Asian regionalism in the age of great powers rivalry: a small state’s perspective

Homogeneity and geographical proximity alone are not sufficient in yielding effective regional cooperation. South Asian regionalism is an apt example. While the continuous and emerging inter-state conflicts, internal domestic challenges, and increasing footsteps of China into South Asia had already affected the geopolitical scenario and the process of regionalism in South Asia, the US-China rivalry has further complicated South Asian regionalism. Against this backdrop, the hopes and aspirations of landlocked countries like Nepal to draw benefits from the regional and sub-regional forums have been severely paralyzed amidst the foreign policy securitization of great powers and regional powers. India’s response to regionalism in South Asia is driven by two factors: isolating Pakistan and containing China. At the same time, Beijing, and Washington intend to lure the South Asian countries through aid and assistance. As such, the strategic interests of great powers in the region have incapacitated regionalism in South Asia. Despite being the incumbent chair of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), Nepal is not in a position to propel the organization ahead. It is not only because of Nepal’s small state syndrome but more because of varying degrees of great power contestations in the region.

Moving from EU-centrisms: Lessons from the Polycrisis for EU studies and Global South Regionalism

This article reflects on the responses to global crises in Global South regionalisms and the EU, emphasising the need for disrupting research agendas, strengthening disciplinary and theoretical diversity accounts in the EU and comparative regionalism studies in general. The article collects trends and challenges highlighted by the literature on EU and regionalism in Global South from 2008 onwards, aiming to address as main research question: how EU studies and Global South scholarship developed after multiple global crises to contribute to the theorisation renewal and the disruption of research agendas? Stemming from the concept of global polycrisis, two relevant and multidimensional crises are analysed: the 2008 global financial crisis and the migration influxes derived from humanitarian crises. By studying both the EU and Global South experiences, we aim to contribute to move beyond the Eurocentric foundations of the regionalism studies, emphasising that knowledge production needs to be more empirically sensitive to context and social reality.

International investment law regionalism in Asia: the tale of South Asia

ABSTRACT International investment law regionalism in the ASEAN region has been a spectacular success. It presents what can be described as ‘third regionalism’. This has prompted scholars to present the ASEAN success model representing the whole of Asia. But there are multiple ‘Asias’. Large swathes of Asia have reluctantly pursued regionalism. One such region is South Asia, whose experience is very different from that of the ASEAN region. The South Asian region has failed in achieving any significant economic integration including investment integration. The most prominent South Asian institution and vehicle for regionalism, SAARC, which was meant to facilitate investment integration, has miserably failed. There are hopes from another institution, BIMSTEC, to deliver on this front, but that would depend on whether South Asian countries value regionalism or not. There is much that South Asia can learn from ASEAN’s experience and imbibe the ‘ASEAN Consensus’ that marks the wave of ‘third regionalism’ based on incrementalism and flexibility.

The Pacific Alliance and its influence on South American regionalism

AbstractWhen the Pacific Alliance was created in 2011, its proposal to reestablish open regionalism led to a debate on the fragmentation of regional integration and the Atlantic–Pacific divide. A decade later, Latin American regionalism is under stress, but the Pacific Alliance is not. Moreover, regionalism in South America displays features that are observed in the Pacific Alliance. From a constructivist framework, this article analyzes how the ideas from the Pacific Alliance shaped the early development of Prosur, highlighting the role of Chile, Colombia, and Peru in influencing South American regionalism. This article aims to contribute to debates on the future of Latin American regionalism by stressing how the Pacific Alliance influences regionalism, dispelling the idea that it is a mere trade bloc, and showing how it consolidates the Bogotá–Lima‐Santiago axis in South American regionalism. It sheds light on the relevance of this regional bloc in political terms and on the agency capacity (achievements and limits) of Colombia, Peru, and Chile in setting a regional agenda.

UNASUR: An Eclectic Analytical Perspective of its Disintegration

Objective/Context: This article aims to explain the causes of the virtual disintegration of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) from the perspective of analytical eclecticism. It is part of the growing literature around the debate on the end of International Relations theory in which analytical eclecticism and integrative pluralism emerge as viable but contested explanatory strategies. Methodology: Based on recent historical evidence and a voluminous body of research on the object of study, we start from analytical eclecticism and sequentially analyze UNASUR from neoclassical realism, institutional liberalism, and social constructivism to comprehensively explain the case. Conclusions: While any of our three approaches can convincingly explain the reasons for UNASUR’s failure, none of them by itself captures the full complexity of its demise. The explanations provided by these analytical approaches are not contradictory but complementary. The creative combination of different International Relations approaches enhances our understanding of an atypical case in the history of Latin American regionalism, generally characterized by the resilience of regional organizations. The analysis of the disintegration of UNASUR reveals structural challenges and tension factors for South American regionalism. It helps understand why PROSUR, as the supposed successor to UNASUR, has not yet taken off. Originality: Research on UNASUR and its destiny has been prolific. Rival explanations such as neoclassical realism, institutional liberalism, and social constructivism have prevailed. This article is the first to collect and integrate these explanations to provide a comprehensive response that accounts for the complex process of South American disintegration.

South Asian regionalism, social development and COVID-19: Lessons for SAARC from the EU's social model

There is little research done on the social agenda of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). As an analysis of the organization's social agenda is relevant to the challenges and opportunities offered by COVID-19, this article aims to draw lessons for SAARC from the development model of the European Union (EU). Erstwhile literature on SAARC has not compared its progress in terms of social development with that of the EU. Hence, this study aims to answer the following questions: What are the key differences between the social development approaches of the two organizations, and what can SAARC learn from the EU's social model? The analysis in this research is largely based on an extensive review of official documents from the EU and SAARC. This article argues that collective social development is in line with SAARC's functionalist approach that prioritizes cooperation in non-controversial areas like human security. Based on the comparative analysis, this article proposes a three-tier social development approach for comprehensive social development across South Asia. This study argues that, despite its socio-economic and political challenges, SAARC has a lot to gain from adopting the EU’s social model.

The credibility of regional policymaking: insights from South America

ABSTRACT Regional responses to international threats and opportunities have become prevalent. Yet significant lacunae persist in our recognition of some impacts of regional policies. Where measuring impact of regional policy does exist, this tends to focus on economic impact, heavily influenced by the EU model, or focuses on impacts that we have come to expect from national level policymaking. In this paper we show that important effects of regional policymaking in South American regionalism are being overlooked. Specifically, we argue that failure to recognize the creation of normative frameworks, dynamics of regional diplomacy, and social policy outcomes from regional policymaking has negatively affected the credibility of regional organizations. Lack of understanding of the impact of regional policy risks trivializing progress in regional policy and, critically, affects the legitimacy and credibility of regional governance. We make this case by focusing on regional health and migration policies in South America.

The Quest for Syntony: Democracy and Regionalism in South America

This article analyses how the issue of democracy protection has been incorporated into South American regionalism. It shows the motivation for building Democracy Clauses in regionalism and identify the challenges for its implementation. From 1985 to 2008, there was a progressive insertion of instruments related to democracy protection. Between 2009 and 2015 efforts were aimed at expanding regional autonomy to deal with political crises. As of 2016–2020 democracy has been used as an element of division between states. We identify the factors that help explain the changes observed which have resulted in the weakening of regionalism's contribution to democracy.

Pulp Friction in the La Plata Basin: The Importance of Natural Resource Governance for South American Regionalism

Over the last two decades, natural resource governance has become an increasingly important element of South American regionalism as commodities became a central driver for regional development strategies. Yet, due to socio-environmental impacts and dissatisfaction with decision-making processes, it is also frequently contested. This article focuses on one particularly prominent contestation with transboundary and regional repercussions, the case of the pulp mill conflict which escalated between Argentina and Uruguay in the 2000s. Using the concepts of regionness and politics of scale, it examines in which ways the pulp mill conflict affected regional cohesion and seeks to understand why it evolved in this way. This shows that the way national governments address socio-environmental conflicts is an important additional obstacle to regional cohesion which has received little attention in studies of South American regionalism so far.

A Theory of Hegemonic Stability in South American Regionalism? Evidence from the Case of Brazil in UNASUR and Venezuela in ALBA

Abstract Both Brazil and Venezuela structured their foreign policy agendas in the early 21st century on the projection of their respective leadership in regional schemes such as UNASUR and ALBA, respectively, following an intermediate hegemonic strategy. The loss of dynamism of these post-hegemonic initiatives problematizes the relationship between regional governance and the role of regional powers. ALBA is a scheme contingent on the political cycle and political voluntarism intrinsic in Venezuela’s leadership. The bloc has lost members and relevance in recent years. As for UNASUR, most of its member states have withdrawn from the bloc and it is currently not operating. In short, post-hegemonic proposals lose dynamism and support once the leadership that promoted them weakens. A certain ‘hegemonic stability theory’ contextualized to South America with regard to the leadership of Brazil and Venezuela in recent years seems to be fulfilled: the decline in power of these countries helps to account for political reversals and changes in regional governance.

The Changing Face of Mercosur: Legitimacy and the Politics of Scale in South American Regionalism

AbstractMercosur has undergone numerous transformations, from a customs union to an organization promoting development and consulting civil society. Recently, there has been a backlash against such ‘politicization’, and an attempt to return Mercosur to its origins. At each of these phases, Mercosur was plagued by questions about its legitimacy and purpose, and its leaders reached out to different types of actors to legitimize it. This article argues that each phase of Mercosur's evolution represented the ascendancy of a constellation of social forces, which sought to shift the governance of particular issues beyond the national scope, to secure their interests. In this context, the different legitimation processes and changing actors involved in them represent different balances of forces within Mercosur. The article traces the evolution of Mercosur and its legitimation processes, identifying the social struggles behind them, and the different conceptions of legitimacy constructed and contested as part of this process.

Crisis in South American regionalism and Brazilian protagonism in Unasur, the Lima Group and Prosur

Abstract This paper discusses the crisis in regional governance in South America from 2017 onwards by analyzing Unasur’s disintegration and the emergence of new arrangements (the Lima Group, Prosur, and the Leticia Pact), as well as the regional and global conditions that enabled them. We assessed their performance in responding to different crises in South America, concluding that the constraints and challenges they faced jeopardize their aim to prosper in the future. Special attention is given to changes in Brazilian foreign policy guidelines toward South America, which contributed to these outcomes.

How regional organizations cope with recurrent stress: the case of South America

Barely 15 years after the 2008 financial crisis and in a context of rising nationalism, regional organizations are facing multiple challenges. This article introduces an analytical framework that systematizes stressors and identifies characteristics that might help regional organizations to cope with stress. It draws on psychological models of how individuals cope with stress to explore how regional organizations grapple with a sequence of stress situations. Stress factors can aggravate pre-existing problems in regionalism and contribute to regional disintegration. But they can also trigger counter-reactions and strengthen the resilience of regionalism. To substantiate our arguments, we study the repercussions of two recent crises for South American regionalism: the political crisis in Venezuela and the Covid-19 pandemic. © 2021, INSTBRASILEIRORELACOESINT. All rights reserved.

El Regionalismo Sudamericano Frente a la Integración Europea: una perspectiva de análisis desde categorías diferentes

El articulo se refiere al proceso de comparacion y relacion que existe entre el regionalismosuramericano, frente a la categoria de analisis de la integracion europea. En general, los bloques de integracion regional han sido confrontados a los fundamentos teoricos establecidos sobre la base de la integracion europea. En la actualidad el objetivo de realizar la comparacion ya no es encontrar la similitud con la integracion europea, sino diferenciar bajo diversos criterios la dinamica de los procesos del regionalismo suramericano. Para el efecto, el trabajo utiliza el metodo de analisis cualitativo, a traves de la revision de literatura especializada producida por academicos en diferentes idiomas.

Paradox of Autonomy: explaining flaws in South American security regionalism

This article addresses the South American difficulties in the consolidation of regional security mechanisms, developing an analytical model called the “paradox of autonomy.” This model was developed through the application of inductive and deductive methodological criteria, based on the observation of recent historical reality, in order to attain generalizable lessons from a relevant case for South American international relations. Also using rational analytical approaches that allow their construction within the framework of rational action problems. From the observation on the emergence and performance of the South American Defense Council, it was identified that the allowing conditions for a novel mechanism of regional (collective) autonomy for security, paradoxically offered opportunities for the exercise of national (individual) autonomy. The article concludes that, although the conditions for the paradox of autonomy are difficult to overcome in cases of security regionalism initiatives, there are possibilities to do so. The key would be in less ambitious institutional designs that recognize the inherent difficulties for institutional regional security cooperation in South America.

Lessons from the European Union’s Economic Integration for South Asian Regionalism

South Asian regionalism—mainly represented by the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)—has always been vulnerable to the influence of the long-standing bilateral disputes, and South Asian intra-regional trade and economic cooperation is limited. This article examines economic integration in Europe, from the 1950s to Britain’s decision to exit from the European Union (EU) in 2016, in order to identify possible lessons for the SAARC. In particular, this article makes use of Gürler’s model of economic integration to propose a way forward for economic cooperation through the SAARC. While the full implementation of the EU’s model of economic integration appears to be a distant reality for the SAARC, this article argues that a revitalized SAARC is nonetheless a suitable vehicle for pursuing a gradual process of economic cooperation in South Asia that may ultimately lead not only to economic integration but also the resolution of political disputes.

¿Anti-regionalismo o post-regionalismo? Brasil y las posibilidades del regionalismo en Sudamérica

This article proposes an analytical exercise on the current possibilities of regionalism in South America. The focus is set on this subcontinental space, within a scenario of indetermination and transformation of the international system, which interacts with strong regional uncertainties. In particular, the article tries to disentangle the role that Brazil has as a key actor in the regional processes and the one that it could assume in the light of the electoral results of 2018. The paper presents the research problem and the analytical tools applied to approach it, proposes a long-term view on the projection of the Brazilian leadership and develops some reflections on the current possibilities of South American Regionalism

Bangladesh-Pakistan relations: hostage to a traumatic past

ABSTRACTBangladesh-Pakistan relations reached a low point in December 2013 when the International Crimes Tribunal of Bangladesh convicted nine persons of war crimes pertaining to Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971, and imposed a death sentence on senior Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami leader Abdul Quader Molla. This paper examines the trials in connection to their impact on Bangladesh-Pakistan relations. The analysis in this paper shows that the traumatic break of East and West Pakistan continues to haunt bilateral relations and now has spill-over effects on South Asian regionalism. It also argues that the Awami League-India nexus is another historically persistent factor precluding better Dhaka-Islamabad relations.

Performance of the South American Defense Council Under Autonomy Pressures

This article evaluates the performance of the South American Defense Council, based on the rational institutional design and the concept of the operability of alliances. The trajectory of the Council between 2009 and 2018, is examined through a theoretical approximation inspired by neoclassical realism and by applying the descriptive inference method of process tracing. The results indicate that in almost a decade, the Defense Council of the Union of South American Nations did not achieve full operability according to its institutional design. The evidence suggests that aspirations of national autonomy undermined the regional security autonomy project. The article affirms that the presence of a South American security regionalism problem resulting from national and regional autonomy tensions generated a paradox of autonomy.

La adhesión venezolana a Mercosur. Estrategias de política externa y regionalismo sudamericano

This article addresses the accession of Venezuela to Mercosur, observing the political conjuncture of the early 2000s, in the national, regional and international levels. This perspective seeks to understand the strategic calculation developed by president Hugo Chavez administration to broaden its room for maneuver in the South American context and to reach its goals of international insertion. Thus, the processes of withdrawal of the Andean Community and the approximation to Southern Common Market are analyzed, as well as the impulse towards the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America. The analysis is accompanied by an interpretation of both domestic and international political phenomena, which allowed for the development of aspects of South American regionalism.