학위논문(석사)--Graduate School of International Studies Ajou University :국제개발협력과,2021. 2
Alternative Abstract
South America has had some integration institutions like: CAN, ALBA and CELAC, however its impact and scope have been very small, as well as UNASUR and MERCOSUR, there has been a lack of positive results. In fact, the word integration might not be the correct term, these intuitions act more like cooperation axes rather than international organizations.
UNASUR was a very popular case study, before and after its foundation, as a relatively new organization which introduced new topics never discussed before in South America. For example, military cooperation, was something “unusual” to be discussed; the geopolitical issues and national security were always under the influence of the United States.
On the other hand, MERCOSUR, was created under different circumstances. At the end of the Cold War it was announced that capitalism will regulate the relations among the States, free trade agreements and economic liberation was the way to act in the 90´s and South America was a part of that change.
For the purpose of this thesis regional integration is defined as “a process where the States gave up their sovereignty to achieved a common welfare that they would not accomplish by themselves” (Botto, 2015).
Regional integration usually includes a commitment, territorial proximity and could be political, economic, social, or a mix of all; this allows the members to do collective decision making that is ratified in the agreement signature. The EU is the only case with a supranational scope, combining political and economic elements.
Finally, the delegation of authority is a conflictive area to South American States and indicates how the governments see the international relations; that is why UNASUR is “stuck”, presidents could not agree who will be the next Secretary-General and instead of looking for alternatives to find a solution, they stopped the negotiations and called for a new meeting. This is evidence that the States are nor working for the regional integration, they are working for the protection of their own sovereignty.
