Paradiplomacy and the diffusion of regional integration: an analysis of the Mercocidades Network (original) (raw)
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This paper aims to analyze the role of local Brazilian subnational governments in influencing the agenda expansion of Mercosur and promoting the inclusion of new actors in Mercosur's regional integration process. Are local Brazilian subnational governments able to promote such changes? In order to answer this question, this work suggests three major types of international activities carried out by local governments in the realm of regional integration: city networks, partnership with the federal government and also initiatives promoted by local government without the federal government. The contribution of Brazilian local governments to the agenda and the inclusion of new actors is identified in the three dimensions. This approach was successful in defining the extent to which local governments have contributed to the expansion of the integration agenda and was also helpful in providing better understanding of the challenge of incorporating new actors into the Mercosur framework. This paper is a result of a longterm research on Brazilian cities paradiplomacy.
Contexto Internacional, 2021
Mercosur has gone through distinct phases, leading to the articulation between a myriad of sectors, groups, and actors, among which subnational governments stand out. Local governments started this movement in 1995, with the foundation of the Mercosur Cities Network. In 2000, the Specialized Meeting of Municipalities and Intendencies (REMI) was created, replaced in the following years by the Mercosur Advisory Forum of Municipalities, States, Provinces, and Departments (FCCR), known for being the channel for subnational representation in the bloc. Drawing on bibliographic and document analysis, in addition to interviews and questionnaires, this article aims to analyze the internationalization and inclusion of subnational actors in Mercosur, mainly focusing on the changes observed over the years within these three institutions. The first section introduces the literature on paradiplomacy and deals specifically with Mercosur, seeking to verify how the regional agenda has been expanded, despite decision-making processes not being decentralized. The second and third sections analyse the origins of subnational integration through Mercocities alongside the development of REMI and FCCR. Considering the historical and institutional specificities of Mercosur, the research concludes by questioning the assumption of International Relations literature that regional blocs are potential arenas for effective internationalization of subnational governments.
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Journal of Economic Integration, 2001
This paper takes seriously the recent claim made by Ethier (1998) that the New Regionalism reflects the success of the multilateral trading system, not its failure. In fact, the New Regionalism represents a qualitative departure of the old regionalism in several respects, in particular, its development has taken place in a very different international economic environment. Moreover, the traditional Vinerian paradigm is no longer the primary analytical framework for its evaluation. We use this novel approach to analyze the case of one of the most important experiences in regional integration, the formation of the Mercado Común del Sur (MERCOSUR). The paper carefully documents the main stylized facts of the development of MERCOSUR arguing that this makes this type of agreement a prime example of the New Regionalism. Our conclusions are consistent with Ethier's paper, that is, regionalism can play a key role in expanding and preserving the liberal trade order.
Regional integration in Latin America: historical developments, current challenges, especially in Mercosur Paulo Roberto de Almeida Professor of Political Economy at the University Center of Brasilia (Uniceub). Meridiano 47 (Brasília: IRel-UnB, vol. 19, 2018; ISSN: 1518-1219; DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.20889/M47e19015; link para o artigo: http://periodicos.unb.br/index.php/MED/article/view/M47e19015; link em pdf: http://periodicos.unb.br/index.php/MED/article/view/M47e19015/20731). Summary: Historical context of previous attempts at integration Contemporary Latin America integration efforts: fragmentation? Mercosur enters the scenario: high expectations, some accomplishments Mercosur expands, somewhat erratically, in the region, but stays stalled What lies ahead for the integration process in Latin America and in Mercosur?
Mercosur’s reinvention in the light of South American politico-ideological synergies (draft)
From the 2000s onward, governments of progressive sensibilities came into power in many of the South American countries. The growing politico-ideological synergy – a key factor for integration building in the subcontinent – produced convergent policies toward the consolidation of the Mercosur. However, these synergies did not relinquish divergences nor tensions within the South-American bloc. In addition, in the last decade, Mercosur started a process of reinvention, given the fact that political and economic conjunctures favored the advancement of neodevelopmentalist projects within its institutional structure, which helped it not enter a state of lethargy among many of the other occurring regional processes in the subcontinent. In this context, it is important to understand the reasons of the change of political orientation of Mercosur. It is likewise essential to ask about consequences of this reinvention to its members and to the political synergies in the region. By understanding regionalism as a “space for action”, in which many actors, public and private, domestic and international, construct integration by and within their relations (Santander 2012), we aim at analyzing the development of Mercosur’s institutions in the last decade and the construction of such change.
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How ‘new’ is the ‘New Regionalism’ in the Americas? The Case of MERCOSUR
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‘New Regionalism’ (NR) approaches have emphasised the qualitative differences between the more recent wave of regionalism and regional integration attempts in the post Second World War period. This article assesses the extent to which these claims to newness are empirically justified in the specific case of MERCOSUR, the largest regional trade bloc in Latin America. It argues that, consistent with New Regionalism perspectives, regionalism in South America since the 1990s has been part of a broader process of national and global economic transformation, which has influenced the character of the process of integration itself. Yet, a careful examination of MERCOSUR suggests that the extent of its newness should not be overstated. MERCOSUR remains a state-led, primarily commercial initiative, and its evolution and sustainability have been fundamentally linked to strategic factors and power configurations at the global and hemispheric levels. Based on these empirical findings, the article challenges the usefulness of the analytical and theoretical separation between NR and mainstream International Relations approaches and illustrates the ways in which their insights can be combined and complemented in the explanation of contemporary regionalism