Thomas Legler | Universidad Iberoamericana - Mexico (original) (raw)

Articles by Thomas Legler

Presidentes y Orquestadores: La Gobernanza de la Pandemia de Covid-19 en las Américas, 2021

Este artículo se propone analizar tendencias contradictorias en la gobernanza hemisférica y regio... more Este artículo se propone analizar tendencias contradictorias en la gobernanza hemisférica y regional de la pandemia de Covid-19. Basado en un extenso ejercicio de mapeo de las dinámicas institucionales de cooperación, en él se describe una mezcla de tendencias de gobernanza conflictivas, tanto negativas como positivas, así como desarticuladas y colaborativas. El autor sostiene que la gobernanza de la pandemia en el hemisferio surge de la convergencia histórica y de la vinculación de dos pautas de gobernanza en la seguridad sanitaria, en las últimas décadas: el interpresidencialismo y la orquestación de las organizaciones regionales. Aun si dio la impresión de que las respuestas fueron nacionales e individualizadas y de que resaltaron las disfuncionalidades de los esquemas de gobernanza existentes, observamos una efervescencia de formas heterogéneas de cooperación y creación de instituciones hemisféricas y regionales contra el virus y sus consecuencias más amplias. Gracias a su capacidad de resistencia y organización, varios organismos regionales formales y bancos de desarrollo lograron compensar al menos parcialmente las pautas perturbadoras del interpresidencialismo patológico a través de sus funciones como orquestadores de gobernanza. Sobre la base de sus hallazgos, en el artículo se hace un llamado al intercambio fecundo de ideas entre el regionalismo comparativo, el institucionalismo neoliberal y los estudios de gobernanza global, así como la construcción de un interpresidencialismo en red para contrarrestar los peores impulsos de los jefes de Estado y de gobierno.

European Review of Latin American and Caribbean Studies, 2020

This article explores why multilateral democracy protection in the Americas has been so ineffecti... more This article explores why multilateral democracy protection in the Americas has been so ineffective in the Venezuelan crisis. The author contends that the state of hemispheric order can either help or hinder regional efforts to defend democracy. The current Venezuelan crisis has unfolded at a difficult moment when the Western Hemispheric order has undergone a particularly turbulent form of regional order transition that the author calls order upheaval. While serving as a structure of opportunities and constraints for both the defenders and transgressors of Venezuelan democracy, this order upheaval has impeded regional cooperation, the provision of democracy protection as a public good, and the ability for the Americas to serve as an effective filter or container for regional problem solving and against the incursion of extra-regional actors in Venezuela's crisis.

Bulletin of Latin American Research, 2020

Diverse sources have constructed a common narrative of individual and isolated responses by count... more Diverse sources have constructed a common narrative of individual and isolated responses by countries and their leaders to the global coron-avirus pandemic, akin to sálvese quien pueda (every man for himself). This article suggests that this is a simplification of the governance of the COVID-19 pandemic in Peru. Peru's governance story is one of domestic public and private action closely interwoven with crucial elements of transnational administration out of sheer necessity. The struggle against the pandemic has generated a domestic and transnational administrative symbiosis, involving authorities at multiple levels in efforts to fill a series of interconnected domestic, regional, and global governance gaps.

Norteamérica, 2020

Norteamérica, revista académica del CISAN-UNAM, año 15, número 2, julio-diciembre de 2020 Abstrac... more Norteamérica, revista académica del CISAN-UNAM, año 15, número 2, julio-diciembre de 2020 Abstract: This article examines why Mexico been unable to develop and sustain a closer bilateral relationship with China. We argue that three sets of interconnected historical and relational factors help explain Mexico's inability to deepens its ties with China: a social relationship marked by distrust, stigmatization, and discrimination toward the Chinese; the persistent perception of China as an economic threat; and, the weight of the United States that makes the bilateral relationship in effect triangular. These elements form a three-part historical narrative that has operated against a sustained and stronger partnership between these two countries. Resumen: Este artículo examina por qué México no ha podido desarrollar y mantener una relación bilateral más estrecha con China. Sostenemos que tres conjuntos de factores históricos y relacionales interconectados ayudan a explicar la incapacidad de México para profundizar sus lazos con China: una relación social marcada por la desconfianza, la estigmatización y la discriminación hacia los chinos; la persistente percepción de China como una amenaza económica; y, el peso de Estados Unidos que hace triangular la relación bilateral. Estos elementos forman una narrativa histórica de tres partes que ha operado contra una asociación sostenida y más fuerte entre estos dos países. Palabras clave: México, China, relaciones bilaterales, política exterior, asociación. Norteamérica, revista académica del CISAN-UNAM, año 15, número 2, julio-diciembre de 2020 La revista Norteamérica publica versiones Ahead-of-Print (AOP) de los artículos dictaminados mediante una rigurosa evaluación de tipo doble ciego y que han sido aceptados por el Comité Editorial con el fin de ofrecer un acceso más amplio y expedito a ellos. / Norteamerica publishes Ahead-of-Print (AOP) versions of all manuscripts that have undergone a rigorous double-blind peer-review and been approved for publication by the Editorial Board in order to provide broader and earlier access to them.

Foreign Affairs Latinoamérica, 2019

This article examines whether China’s growing role in Latin America has had a significant impact ... more This article examines whether China’s growing role in Latin America has had a significant impact on the construction of autonomous regional governance. The authors propose that Chinese influence has in this
sense been contradictory: on the one hand, China’s growing economic presence seems to have created advantages for the countries in
the region to reduce their dependence on the United States; while on the other, China seems to have no ideological or political preferences when it comes to choosing its partners in Latin America. Multilaterally, it maintains relations with both inter-American and Latin American organisations. Bilaterally, its strategic partners include liberal and anti-liberal governments.
Hence, there is little evidence that China actively supports the fight for regional political autonomy.

Desde principios de 2014, ha habido una variedad de intentos interamericanos y regionales para en... more Desde principios de 2014, ha habido una variedad de intentos interamericanos y regionales para enfrentar la crisis actual en Venezuela. Hasta ahora, ninguno parece haber funcionado en términos de la defensa colectiva de la democracia, independientemente de si se trata de los esfuerzos realizados por la OEA, la UNASUR, la CELAC, el MERCOSUR o el Grupo de Lima, pero ¿por qué estos esfuerzos han fracasado persistentemente? Para responder a esta pregunta, en este artículo presentamos un marco analítico centrado en el concepto del nexo hemisférico-regional de gobernanza. El uso de esto concepto permite observar cuán necesaria es la existencia de coordinación y cooperación entre organizaciones hemisféricas y regionales para amplificar los efectos de la presión ejercida y hacerla más efectiva en el logro de una solución negociada a la crisis. Asimismo, el análisis del estado actual del nexo ha puesto de manifiesto cómo la fragmentación de la arquitectura regional ha favorecido que el grueso de la presión sobre el gobierno venezolano haya recaído no en las organizaciones del nexo hemisférico-regional sino en mecanismos extra-organizacionales y grupos informales de reciente creación, como el Grupo de Lima, y en el liderazgo de los principales países de la región y sus aliados extra regionales. Por último, nuestro análisis señala que el mismo nexo puede brindar herramientas a aquellos que son objeto de los esfuerzos regionales en defensa de la democracia, como es el caso del gobierno de Maduro, el cual ha fomentado y aprovechado la fragmentación del nexo, demostrando su capacidad para hacer frente, anticiparse y responder a las acciones a favor de la democracia emprendidas. De esta forma, este artículo concluye que en lugar de coadyuvar a alcanzar una solución duradera y eficaz a la crisis venezolana, la evolución del nexo y su fragmentación han afectado negativamente el manejo efectivo de la misma.

El multilateralismo latinoamericano del nuevo milenio ha puesto un fuerte énfasis en la realizaci... more El multilateralismo latinoamericano del nuevo milenio ha puesto un fuerte énfasis en la realización de cumbres y en la búsqueda de esquemas de concertación política, como señalan Serbin y Rojas en sus contribuciones a este número. Lo anterior se constata en los propósitos de la Declaración de la Cumbre de la Unidad de América Latina y el Caribe que se llevó a cabo en Cancún, en febrero de 2010: fomentar la concertación política y los procesos de diálogo, así como la comunicación, la cooperación, la coordinación, la complementariedad y la sinergia entre las organizaciones subregionales existentes. Pero, ¿qué pasa con la gobernanza regional? Existen problemas de gobernanza regional urgentes que requieren mucho más que palabras, como la crisis económica internacional, el narcotráfico y el crimen organizado, la migración trasnacional, la trata de personas, las pandemias y el calentamiento global.

The insights and lessons gained by OAS efforts to defend democracy in Peru during the 1990s were ... more The insights and lessons gained by OAS efforts to defend democracy in Peru during the 1990s were the inspiration behind the Inter‐American Democratic Charter. The interim Peruvian government that replaced the Fujimori dictatorship was its original and most energetic promoter. How accurately has the Charter captured the lessons from Peru? Does the Charter fulfill Peru's current requirements in terms of strengthening democracy? Broadly speaking, this article finds that the Charter did indeed successfully enshrine the insights learned the hard way from both OAS debacle and achievement in Peru. The Charter represents a necessary juridical systematization of the assortment of principles, norms, mechanisms, and tools built up previously in a largely ad hoc fashion. The Charter effectively filled a serious gap in defending democracy in terms of providing a mechanism for responding to non‐coup d'état situations of authoritarian backsliding by elected incumbent governments. It also fused international norms of democracy and human rights by making democracy a human right, thereby strengthening domestic and international obligations to defend and promote democracy. Nevertheless, the Charter's provisions for strengthening democracy beyond an interruption or alteration in the democratic order are relatively weak. As Peru's democratic consolidation challenges illustrate, the next step in the evolution of the OAS Democratic Solidarity Paradigm, with the admirable Inter‐American Democratic Charter as its centre piece, is to define the role of the OAS, build its resources, and strengthen its capacity for assisting member states with a whole range of post‐crisis problems, including national reconciliation, strengthening political parties and civil society, and civilian supremacy over the military.

In recent years, the Organization of American States has charted new terrain in the defense and p... more In recent years, the Organization of American States has charted new terrain in the defense and promotion of democracy. Most significantly, it intervened in Peru (2000) and in Venezuela (2002–2004). The cen-terpiece of both initiatives was the establishment of a mesa, an OAS-facilitated intra-elite dialogue roundtable. In examining this " tale of two mesas, " we trace three components of this approach: the actors at the table, the agendas, and the achievements. Although significant differences between the two processes make it difficult to articulate a single, coherent model, both the Peruvian and Venezuelan mesas exemplify a new mode of multilateral intervention— " intervention without intervening. " Though this approach has limitations, it may have some potential for application beyond our two case studies.

Presidentes y Orquestadores: La Gobernanza de la Pandemia de Covid-19 en las Américas, 2021

European Review of Latin American and Caribbean Studies, 2020

Bulletin of Latin American Research, 2020

Norteamérica, 2020

Foreign Affairs Latinoamérica, 2019

Global Politics and the International System: Narratives from Mexico, 2021

Venezuela en la Encrucijada Radiografía de un Colapso, 2020

La Alianza del Pacífico (AP), creada en el año 2011 por Chile, Colombia México y Perú, tiene como... more La Alianza del Pacífico (AP), creada en el año 2011 por Chile, Colombia México y Perú, tiene como por objetivo central promover mediante distintas vías la integración profunda entre sus participantes y de manera subsidiaria aumentar su presencia en América Latina, así como servir como ventana de relacionamiento con el mundo, en especial en Asia-Pacífico.

La Alianza, tras superar distintos desafíos internos y externos, logra iniciar su segunda década de vida, y frente a tal acontecimiento este libro tiene el propósito de analizar los rasgos más importantes y definitorios de este esquema de integración en América Latina, desde su origen al momento actual. Para ello, mediante los capítulos elaborados por destacados especialistas, el libro aborda el impacto del vibrante contexto internacional que enfrenta la Alianza; las características e implicaciones de su andamiaje institucional; el comportamiento comercial del bloque; el vínculo del sector privado de los países miembro con la AP; así como las distintas categorías de adscripción del mecanismo.

Entre otros asuntos, la obra concluye que la AP requiere de un renovado liderazgo con pragmatismo institucionalizado, que le permita hacer frente a los retos que encara, a efecto de aumentar la integración profunda. Tal aspiración reviste de especial importancia, en virtud de que al momento actual sus cuatro miembros son liderados por presidentes de tendencias políticas distintas a la de los padres fundadores, lo que puede conducir a una Alianza más reforzada y con mayor sentido social.

La Alianza del Pacífico Frente a su Segunda Década, 2022

In this book we tell the story of the recent evolution of multilateral efforts by the OAS to defe... more In this book we tell the story of the recent evolution of multilateral efforts by the OAS to defend and promote democracy in the Americas. Our case studies examine the OAS’s attempts to resolve the political crises in Peru and Venezuela. Two principal themes underpin our analysis. On a broader conceptual level, from an older club-style multilateralism, we trace the evolution of networked multilateralism in its relation to an emerging regional democratic solidarity paradigm. Tied in with the first theme at a more specific, detailed level is a novel form of intervention in the Americas—the OAS dialogue tables, the ascendancy of which we analyse.

La Alianza del Pacífico Frente a su Segunda Década, 2022

Democracy and Foreign Policy in an Era of Uncertainty, 2022

Global Politics and the International System: Narratives from Mexico, 2021

Regional and International Cooperation in South America After Covid, 2022

This chapter analyses how Venezuela has influenced the problematic trends that have characterised... more This chapter analyses how Venezuela has influenced the problematic trends that have characterised South American regionalism in recent years. In a review of the pertinent literature, it adopts a distinction between Venezuela as agency and conduit. Although there is ample evidence that both Venezuelan actors and the multidimensionality and internationalisation of the country’s ongoing crisis have left their mark on South American governance and region-building, the analysis makes an even more profound claim about Venezuelan influence. Venezuelan factors have contributed to a bold experiment to create a South American regional order that went terribly wrong and has left the region and the Americas more broadly with an ongoing situation of dual disorder or hemispheric order upheaval. Until South America’s and the Western Hemisphere’s fundamental problems of order are addressed, it will be difficult to get South American cooperation back on track.

China-Latin America Relations in the 21st Century, 2020

This chapter examines whether China’s growing role in Latin America has had a significant impact ... more This chapter examines whether China’s growing role in Latin America has had a significant impact on the construction of autonomous regional governance in the new millennium. The authors find that China’s influence in this regard has been contradictory. On the one hand, China’s growing economic presence has seemingly created advantages for countries in the region to reduce their dependence on the United States. On the other, China does not seem to have a preference in terms of its partners in Latin America. Multilaterally, it maintains relations with both Inter-American and Latin American organizations. Bilaterally, it counts liberal as well as anti-liberal governments among its strategic partners. The patterns of China’s increasing economic, political and diplomatic ties with Latin America do not suggest a Chinese preference for post-hegemonic or post-liberal directions in evolving regionalisms. Accordingly, there seems to be little evidence that China actively supports regional political autonomist efforts.

Unlike Africa, the Middle East, or Asia, the Americas have a long albeit problematic track record... more Unlike Africa, the Middle East, or Asia, the Americas have a long albeit problematic track record with democracy. Apart from Cuba, the democracy promotion challenge is not so much how to democratize authoritarian regimes but on how to strengthen democratic institutions, governance, and citizenship while defending democratic constitutional orders from authoritarian backsliding by elected incumbent leaders. Moreover, democracy is currently a highly contested concept in the Americas in terms of its meaning and practices, as illustrated by the intense competition between rival visions of representative democracy and plebiscitary or direct alternatives in countries such as Bolivia, Ecuador, and Venezuela

During the 1990s, the member states of the OAS constructed a new regime to protect democracy from... more During the 1990s, the member states of the OAS constructed a new regime to protect democracy from threats of authoritarian reversals. The foundation of the regime was a set of international legal pillars, including the Protocolo de Cartagena de Indias (1985), Resolution 1080, the Washington Protocol (1992/1997) and the Inter-American Democratic Charter (IADC, 2001). It was put to the test on numerous occasions with varying results: Bolivia (2003, 2005, 2008), Ecuador (1997, 2000, 2005), Guatemala (1993), Haiti (1991–4, 2000–5), Nicaragua (2005), Paraguay (1996, 1999), Peru (1992, 2000), and, Venezuela (1992, 2002).

La Alianza del Pacífico a 10 años: Integración Profunda e Institucionalización sui generis, 2021

Strengthening Multilateralism and Global Governance, 2024

This policy brief analyzes the urgent issue of humanitarian catastrophes (versus humanitarian eme... more This policy brief analyzes the urgent issue of humanitarian catastrophes (versus humanitarian emergencies) and its relationship with the mandate of the G20 and the priorities of the Brazilian Presidency. To this end, and in light of the cases of Ukraine and Gaza, the authors explore the extent to which the G20 could adopt a new role in the issue-area of international security crises, specifically linked to humanitarian catastrophes. In the midst of the persistent deadlock among member states in the United Nations system and the lack of a common foreign policy within the G20 regarding humanitarian action in these countries, they advocate the creation of a Working Group on Responses to Humanitarian Catastrophes (WG-RHC) within the G20 Sherpa Track. In this regard, the brief identifies three possible scenarios: one related to possible resistance from some G20 members to this initiative; another to do with its technical and legal operationalization
that compliments the work of U.N. humanitarian bodies; and a third regarding the protection of children in the field of health and food security.

It is common for scholars to prescribe an insulated technocracy as a prerequisite for successful ... more It is common for scholars to prescribe an insulated technocracy as a prerequisite for successful economic and political reforms. This paper uses the benefit of hindsight --an examination of the Salinas administration (1988-1994)-- to challenge critically the elitist, top-down and technocratic vision of policy-making prevalent in much of the mainstream literature. True to the conventional wisdom, an insulated, technocratic elite managed the reform process in Mexico. However, instead of leading to the political sustainability and economic success of the reforms, this decision-making style contributed greatly to Mexico’s current political and economic crises. With the decline of the post-revolutionary compromise and in the absence of democratic counterweights, Salinas’ tecnócratas enjoyed unprecedented policy space. The Mexican experience points to the need to examine the “modernizing” role of technocratic elites in developing countries in a more critical fashion. The Salinas legacy also raises the imperative for democratization; rather than being insulated, economic policy-making must become more democratically embedded.

Bulletin of Latin American Research

Diverse sources have constructed a common narrative of individual and isolated responses by count... more Diverse sources have constructed a common narrative of individual and isolated responses by countries and their leaders to the global coronavirus pandemic, akin to sálvese quien pueda (every man for himself). This article suggests that this is a simplification of the governance of the COVID‐19 pandemic in Peru. Peru's governance story is one of domestic public and private action closely interwoven with crucial elements of transnational administration out of sheer necessity. The struggle against the pandemic has generated a domestic and transnational administrative symbiosis, involving authorities at multiple levels in efforts to fill a series of interconnected domestic, regional, and global governance gaps.

Norteamérica, 2020

This article examines why Mexico been unable to develop and sustain a closer bilateral relationsh... more This article examines why Mexico been unable to develop and sustain a closer bilateral relationship with China. We argue that three sets of interconnected historical and relational factors help explain Mexico’s inability to deepens its ties with China: a social relationship marked by distrust, stigmatization, and discrimination toward the Chinese; the persistent perception of China as an economic threat; and, the weight of the United States that makes the bilateral relationship in effect triangular. These elements form a three-part historical narrative that has operated against a sustained and stronger partnership between these two countries.

China–Latin America Relations in the 21st Century, 2020

This chapter examines the contradictory impact of China on recent attempts to construct autonomou... more This chapter examines the contradictory impact of China on recent attempts to construct autonomous regional governance in Latin America. Although China’s growing economic presence has seemingly created opportunities for countries to reduce their dependence on the United States, Chinese economic influence has been decidedly liberal in nature. China’s diverse ties with Latin America do not suggest an ideological preference for post-hegemonic or post-liberal regionalism. Bilaterally, China counts both liberal and anti-liberal governments among its strategic partners. Multilaterally, it maintains relations with regional organizations across the Western Hemisphere, irrespective of whether the United States is a member or not. There is little evidence that China actively supports Latin American or South American efforts to construct autonomous governance.

Revista CIDOB d'Afers Internacionals, 2018

Latin American Policy, 2012

This special issue of LatinAmerican Policy is intended as a contribution to the institutional and... more This special issue of LatinAmerican Policy is intended as a contribution to the institutional and official efforts by the member states and General Secretariat of the Organization of American States (OAS), academia, and civil society to mark the tenth anniversary of the creation of the Inter-American Democratic Charter (IADC) and to capture some of the elements of the debate over the efficacy and future directions of the IADC. Accordingly, it draws together the authors of eleven original articles, all of whom, in addition to being practitioners or academics, are stakeholders in and students of the Inter-American System and the IADC. Despite its noble character and intentions and the agreement of all that the past decade has shown clearly that the Democratic Charter continues to be of immense relevance to the Inter-American System, it is in need of strengthening. Many also share a common belief that the IADC itself need not be reopened, but rather that a variety of complementary measures must be found to improve its application in the defense and promotion of representative democracy in the Americas. Here the consensus among them ends. In this introduction, we the invited editors establish the state of the debate on the IADC. We identify seven key issues that appear in the articles of this collection: the evolving regional context in which the IADC has operated; establishing benchmarks for collective action; monitoring and peer review mechanisms; reinforcing the OAS Secretary General’s authority; democratizing access to the IADC; development, human rights, citizenship, and security; and better use of existing resources. The authors engage in lively discussions and differential emphasis within and across these categories.

Foro Internacional

Revista CIDOB d'Afers Internacionals, 2018

Resumen: Este artículo examina si el creciente papel de China en América Latina ha tenido un impa... more Resumen: Este artículo examina si el creciente papel de China en América Latina ha tenido un impacto significativo en la construcción de la gobernanza regional autónoma. Los auto-res plantean que la influencia china en este sentido ha sido contradictoria: por una parte, la creciente presencia económica de China parece haber creado ventajas para que los países de la región reduzcan su dependencia de Estados Unidos; por la otra, China no se inclina a tener preferencias ideológicas o políticas en términos de quiénes son sus socios en América Latina. Multilateralmente, mantiene relaciones tanto con organizaciones interamericanas como latinoamericanas. Bilateralmente, sus socios estratégicos incluyen gobiernos liberales y antiliberales. De esta forma, existe poca evidencia de que China apoye activamente la lucha por la autonomía política regional.

Abstract: This article examines whether China’s growing role in Latin America has had a significant impact on the construction of autonomous regional governance. The authors propose that Chinese influence has in this sense been contradictory: on the one hand, China’s growing economic presence seems to have created advantages for the countries in the region to reduce their dependence on the United States; while on the other, China seems to have no ideological or political preferences when it comes to choosing its partners in Latin America. Multilaterally, it maintains relations with both inter-American and Latin American organisations. Bilaterally, its strategic partners include liberal and anti-liberal governments. Hence, there is little evidence that China actively supports the fight for regional political autonomy.

Regional multilateral regimes have become important instruments for promoting and defending democ... more Regional multilateral regimes have become important instruments for promoting and defending democracy around the world. The novel nature of these regional instruments has generated a cottage industry in social science scholarship. Yet, none of these works compare the democracy promotion and defence regimes of the Organization of American States (OAS) and the African Union (AU). This article is designed to fill this gap. We argue that the unique constellation of actors that are members of each respective organization have reinforced two distinct democracy promotion and defence paths. The state-driven regime evolution characteristic of the Americas contrasts with Africa's expert-driven process of regime construction. The state-centric process of the OAS regime has bolstered a narrow interstate multilateralism that upholds traditional sovereign state prerogatives and minimizes the role for non-state actors in the promotion and defence of democracy in the Americas. The expert-driven process of AU's regime construction has fostered a legalistic approach to democratic promotion and defence in Africa and opened up space for non-state actors to play a central role in the development of regional democracy promotion and defence norms.