Tulane University
- A.b. Freedman School Of Business
- Administrator
- Affiliated Faculty
- Africa
- African Diaspora
- Africana Studies
- Afro Latinos
- Afro-caribbean Religion
- Afro-cuban
- Altman Program In International Studies & Business
- Amazon
- Ambassador Visit
- Center For Conflict And Cohesion Studies
- Center For Global Development
- Center For Global Education
- Center For Inter-american Policy And Research
- Central America
- Central American Policy
- Centro De Investigación Y Adiestramiento Político Administrativo
- Cepal
- Ceq
- Ceq Working Paper Series
- Chair In Economics
- Chavez
- Cipr
- Cipr And Iad Joint Seminar Series
- Cipr Post-doctoral Fellowship
- Ciprstaff
- Citizen Security
- City
- Colonialism
- Commitment To Equity
- Committee On World Food Security
- Communication
- Communications
- Community
- Cuban & Caribbean Studies
- Cuban-american Relations
- Cultural Rights
- Culture
- Culture And Community
- David Smilde
- Debt Crisis
- Declining Inequality
- Declining Inequality In Latin America
- Decompression
- Democrac
- Democracy
- Diplomat
- Disaster Relief
- Disaster Resilience Leadership Academy
- Discrimination
- Disposable Income
- Diversity
- Indigenous Latin American Languages
- Indigenous Rights
- Indirect Taxes
- Inequality
- Inflation
- Informal Urban Land Development
- Informal Urban Settlement
- Institutions
- Inter-american Court
- Inter-american Dialogue
- Inter-american Relations
- International Programs
- International Relations
- International Studies
- Intra-regional Trade
- Job Annoucement
- Job Announcement
- Job Opening
- Job Opportunity
- Journalism
- Judiciary
- K-12 Cuba Teacher Institute
- K-12 Teacher Workshop
- Kellogg Institute
- Music
- Natural Resources
- Neoliberal Policies
- Neoliberalism
- New Orleans
- New Orleans Center For The Gulf South
- Police Violence
- Policy
- Political Competition
- Political Economy
- Political Institutions
- Political Science
- Political Sociology
- Politicians
- Politics
- Politics Of Migration
- Popular Sector Incorporation
- Populism
- School Of Liberal Arts
- School Of Public Health & Tropical Medicine
- School Of Public Health And Tropical Medicine
- School Of Social Work
- Semester Abroad
- Sergio Bejar
- Speakers
- Staff
- State-society Relations
- Stone Center For Latin American Studies
- Student Funding
- Study Abroad
- (83) Politics
- (59) General Latin America
- (58) Venezuela
- (49) Political Science
- (47) Human Development
- (45) Commitment To Equity
- (24) Ceq Working Paper Series
- (21) Central America
- (21) Social Policy
- (19) Elections
- (17) Sociology
- (17) Costa Rica
- (17) Chile
- (16) Fiscal Policy
- (16) Political Economy
- (14) Latin American Legislative
- (14) Center For Inter-american Policy And Research
- (13) Future Of Cuba
- (9) Research
- (9) Stone Center For Latin American Studies
- (9) Ceq
- (8) Socialism
- (8) Cipr And Iad Joint Seminar Series
- (8) Anthropology
- (7) Fiscal Incidence
- (7) Core Faculty
- (7) International Relations
- (7) Environment
- (7) Literature
- (7) Income Redistribution
- (6) Spanish & Portuguese
- (6) Uruguay
- (6) Cuban & Caribbean Studies
- (6) Puerto Rico
- (6) Study Abroad
- (6) School Of Liberal Arts
- (6) New Wave
- (5) Declining Inequality
- (5) Cipr Post-doctoral Fellowship
- (5) Taxes
- (5) Southern Cone
- (5) Ciapa
- (5) Global Development
- (5) History
- (5) Policy
- (5) Social Justice
- (4) Center For Global Development
- (4) Redistribution
- (4) Undergraduate Students
- (4) Social Inclusion
- (4) Haiti
- (4) Dominican Republic
- (4) Populism
- (4) Guatemala
- (4) Ambassador Visit
- (4) Politics Of Migration
- (4) Hurricane Maria
- (4) Latin American Library
- (4) Imf
- (4) Econoimcs
- (4) China
- (3) Us-mexico Border
- (3) Tulane University
- (3) Education
- (3) Culture And Community
- (3) Neoliberalism
- (3) Declining Inequality In Latin America
- (3) A.b. Freedman School Of Business
- (3) Wacno
- (3) Globalization
- (3) Cooperative
- (3) Developing Democracies
- (3) Tulane
- (3) Cash Transfers
- (3) Voter Behavior
- (3) Extractivism
- (3) Labor
- (3) Environmental Studies
- (3) Violence
- (3) Graduate Conference
- (3) Inter-american Court
- (3) Coronavirus
- (2) Undergraduate Conference
- (2) Tucla
- (2) Social Equity
- (2) School Of Social Work
- (2) Social Inequalities
- (2) Migration
- (2) Tuscla
- (2) Reforms
- (2) Language
- (2) Comparative Politics
- (2) El Salvador
- (2) World Bank
- (2) Language And Culture
- (2) Public Policy
- (2) Police Violence
- (2) Ethno-racial Divide
- (2) Reading Project
- (2) Social Work
- (2) Award
- (2) Doctoral Program
- (2) Afro-caribbean Religion
- (2) Natural Resources
- (2) Oecd
- (2) Administrator
- (2) Job Announcement
- (2) Nora Lustig
- (2) Critical Race Theory
- (2) Public Opinion
- (2) Publications
- (2) Indigenous
- (2) Immigrants
- (2) Sergio Bejar
- (2) Mobility
- (2) Taxes And Transfers
- (2) Student Funding
- (2) Art
- (2) Nicaragua
- (2) Government Action
- (1) Central American Policy
- (1) K-12 Teacher Workshop
- (1) K-12 Cuba Teacher Institute
- (1) David Smilde
- (1) Graduate Students
- (1) Prison
- (1) Hurricane Katrina
- (1) Deportation
- (1) Study In Latin America
- (1) Government
- (1) Protests
- (1) Oil
- (1) Refugees
- (1) Social Mobilization
- (1) Social Justic
- (1) International Programs
- (1) Fundraising
- (1) Water Management
- (1) Forced Migration
- (1) Sustainability
- (1) Urban Ethnography
- (1) Lgbt
- (1) Kellogg Institute
- (1) Public Health
- (1) School Of Public Health And Tropical Medicine
- (1) Undergraduate
- (1) Diversity
- (1) Revolution
- (1) Tulaso
- (1) Greenleaf Fellow
- (1) New Orleans Center For The Gulf South
- (1) Latin Americanist Graduate Association
- (1) Lago
- (1) Lago Conference
- (1) Urbanism
- (1) Greenleaf Fellows
- (1) Slavery
- (1) International Studies
- (1) Outreach
- (1) Ethnography
- (1) Sustainable Development Goals
- (1) Catholic Church
- (1) Teacher Workshop; Outreach
- (1) French
- (1) Architecture
- (1) Indigenous Latin American Languages
- (1) Non-profit
- (1) Outrearch
- (1) Social Conflict
- (1) Audubon Zoo
- (1) Postcolonial Studies
- (1) Art History
- (1) African Diaspora
- (1) Middle American Research Institute
- (1) Job Opening
- (1) Center For Global Education
- (1) Relief
- (1) Disaster Resilience Leadership Academy
- (1) Trauma Institute
- (1) Cuban & Caribbean S
- (1) Mari
- (1) Authoritarianism
- (1) Gran Fiesta
- (1) Portuguese
- (1) Altman Program In International Studies & Business
- (1) Flas
- (1) New Orleans Film Festival
- (1) Democrac
- (1) Maduro
- (1) Elites
- (1) Africana Studies
- (1) Photography
- (1) Communications
- (1) Amazon
- (1) Identity
- (1) Graduate Student Conference
- (1) Community
- (1) Culture
- (1) City
- (1) Visiting Researcher
- (1) New York Times
- (1) Afro Latinos
- (1) Migrant
- (1) Migrant Workers
- (1) Peacekeeping
- (1) Paris
- (1) Hlpe Report
- (1) Venezuel
- (1) School Of Public Health & Tropical Medicine
- (1) Institutions
- (1) Rule Of Law
- (1) Benefit Incidence
- (1) Income
- (1) Hlpe
- (1) Urban Land Development
- (1) High Level Panel Of Experts
- (1) Nutrition
- (1) Committee On World Food Security
- (1) Food Security
- (1) Regional Agreements
- (1) Intra-regional Trade
- (1) Regionalism
- (1) Environmental Governance
- (1) Governance
- (1) Same Sex Marriage
- (1) Civil Society
- (1) Legislature
- (1) Transnational Activism
- (1) Effectiveness
- (1) Representation
- (1) State-society Relations
- (1) Informal Urban Land Development
- (1) Pension Reform
- (1) Forestry
- (1) Informal Urban Settlement
- (1) Legislatures
- (1) Transnational Law
- (1) Assembly Movements
- (1) Lasa 2010
- (1) Christian Science Monitor
- (1) Model Oas
- (1) Global Poverty
- (1) Global Economics
- (1) Roundtable
- (1) Meeting
- (1) Centro De Investigación Y Adiestramiento Político Administrativo
- (1) Political Competition
- (1) Celebracion Latina
- (1) Payson
- (1) Latino
- (1) Happiness
- (1) Debt Crisis
- (1) Film Series
- (1) Indigenous Rights
- (1) Ludovico Feoli
- (1) Fundación Vidanta
- (1) Buenos Aires
- (1) Teaching
- (1) Samuel P Huntington
- (1) Citizen Security
- (1) Prisons
- (1) Drug Trafficking
- (1) Anthony Pereira
- (1) Decompression
- (1) Inclusive Growth
- (1) Economic Forum
- (1) Fundación Rap
- (1) Transfers
- (1) Bolsa Familia
- (1) Mesoamerican
- (1) Poverty Reduction
- (1) Popular Sector Incorporation
- (1) Indirect Taxes
- (1) Semester Abroad
- (1) Fall
- (1) Music
- (1) Working Papers
- (1) Incidence Analysis
- (1) Repal
- (1) Public Sector
- (1) Inter-american Dialogue
- (1) Center For Conflict And Cohesion Studies
- (1) Social Dialogue
- (1) United Nations
- (1) Social Safeguards
- (1) Environmental Safguards
- (1) Private Sector
- (1) Spain
Regionalism in Latin America
March 2nd, 2012
Lecture Synopsis
Olivier Dabène
Regionalism in Latin America: the current stage of flexibility and pragmatism
On February 6, 2012, Tulane‘s Center for Inter-American Policy welcomed Dr. Olivier Dabène, Director of the Political Science Department at the Paris Institute of Political Studies and President of the Political Observatory of Latin America and the Caribbean, to discuss regionalism in Latin America. Dabène began his presentation by underscoring that the number and scale of regional agreements found in Latin America is unequaled anywhere else in the world. However, these regional agreements have not, overall, been successful in terms of increasing interdependence, integration, and institutionalization across the continent. As an example, Dabène cited intra-regional trade, which accounts for a modest 25 percent or less of the region‘s overall trade. However, integration efforts persist, both through the subsistence of old schemes and the emergence of new ones.
What might explain the persistence of multiple integration efforts in the face of such ineffectiveness? Dabène argues that a key factor is the flexibility that characterizes these regional agreements, both in design and governance. For his analysis, he divided flexibility into three realms: flexibility in time, flexibility in space (variable geometry) and flexibility in projects (agendas ‘a la carte‘). With respect to time, Dabène outlined the salient examples of the Quito Protocol (1987), the American Treaty (MERCOSUR, 1991), and the Guatemala Protocol (SICA, 1993), in which ‘gradualism‘ in integrating the member nations was made explicitly integral to the agreements themselves. With respect to variable geometry, Dabène highlighted the myriad ways in which the regions‘ agreements are structured; bilateralism (Brazil/Mexico, Chile), bi-multilateralism (Chile/MERCOSUR), tri-lateralism (URUPABOL, NAFTA), regionalism (MERCOSUR, CAN, SICA, CARICOM, ALBA), trans-regionalism (Pacific Arc), mega-regionalism (UNASUR, CELAC), and inter-regionalism. In terms of flexibility of projects and agenda diversification, Dabène focused on UNASUR (Union of South American Nations), which he described as reactive and pragmatic. When UNASUR was first founded in 2000, it did not have a fixed agenda. Dabène explained that since then, UNASUR still maintains a fluid agenda but has also developed a capacity to react to developments in the region, signaling its potential strength as a regional union.
An illustrative example of this was UNASUR‘s adoption of a democratic clause in 2010 that now renders democracy a necessary prerequisite for membership in UNASUR. Dabène explained that this clause was adopted in response to a police uprising in Ecuador, and it subsequently enabled UNASUR to act as an effective broker for a similar democratic crisis in Bolivia. Dabène added that UNASUR might also serve as a platform for Brazil to develop its position as a regional leader in the Americas. Brazil was influential in the adoption and use of the democracy clause in UNASUR. It also prompted UNASUR to establish a security and defense council. As a result, the union‘s agenda currently includes health, defense, infrastructure and planning, drugs, energy, economy and finance, security, social development, etc. With respect to the rise of Brazil as a regional leader, Dabène questioned whether Brazil is ready to become ‘the Germany‘ of the Americas. In his view, even if Brazil has not yet officially embraced regional leadership, it is quietly developing that role.

Copyright © 2021 CIPR | Center For Inter-American Policy & Research All Rights Reserved.
Tulane University, 205 Richardson Building, New Orleans, LA 70118, (504) 862-3141 cipr@tulane.edu