In the previous video, we have seen that European integration was made possible through enlargement, or a spillover effect. Yet, in Latin America, this is not the case. In fact, regionalism in Latin America is quite complex. In this video, we will learn that in four different ways of regionalization efforts, Latin American regionalism has become multi-layered, multi-faced, and eclectic. As a consequence, if we look at the geopolitical map of Latin America today, we see that is characterized by a large set of different regional arrangements. These arrangements are both formal and informal in nature, and various regional organizations and regional institutions currently co-exist. This resulted in what scholars have labeled the alphabet soup of Latin American regionalism. In this video, we will first look at the different interpretations of regionalism in Latin America, then we will look at different phases or waves of Latin America regional integration efforts. At the end I will provide you with an overview of today's most well known regional organizations to show how multi faceted and multi layered the Latin American regional architecture really is. Now, before delving into the particular ways in which regionalism has advanced in Latin America, let's start with the question. What defines Latin America as a region? Characterization of Latin America as a region relies on the clear geographical basis, namely the Rio Grande as the demarcation line with the United States in the North, and the southernmost tip of South America, Tierra del Fuego, as the southernmost border. As such, a region that's in America is composed of 21 countries, starting with Mexico in the North, all the way down to Chile Argentia in the South. However, to others this large interpretation of Latin America region is contested, as is argued that one should move beyond issues of geographic. In fact, according to scholars such as Bancoulli, a region must be defined as a socially constructed and politically contested space between the national and global levels, in which political unity and regional cooperation is based on a shared set of politico-social preferences and homogeneities. In this way, Latin America consists of more regions, Central America, South America, and the Andorra region. On the basis of these two mainstream interpretations of what defines Latin America as one region, two competing visions on regionalism have been developed over time. The first interpretation of Latin America as one region led to the promotion of hemispheric-wide regionalism, also including the United States and Canada. Examples for these few points of regionalism are the long series of pan-American conferences at the end of the 19th century, the creation of the Organization of American States right after World War II, and more recently the creation of the Community of Latin America and Caribbean States in 2010. In contrast, the interpretation that Latin America is composed of sub-regions can be traced back to as early as beginning of the 19th century. At the time, the South America independence leader Simon Bolivar, and these nefarious geopolitical unions that would ensure the independence of the newly created sovereign states vis-a-vis the Spaniards and the Americans. This lead to the creation of the Andean Confederation in the 19th century, which is a predecessor of today and Andean Community or CAN. It also led to the creation of the Federal Republic of Central America, which we now know as SICA. And finally, it led to the creation of the United Provinces of South America, which is an early version of the current Union of South American States, or UNASUR. The literature on the history of Latin American integration is unreal. In general, recent Latin America's regional integration are grouped into four different waves, visualized in this figure. The First Wave, from 1950 to 1980, is called Early Regionalism, and focuses on the potential for economic cooperation as a mean for the development of national industry. The second wave, from 1980 to 1990, is called Old Regionalism and puts the focus more on economic benefits of regional integration systems rather than just economic corporation. This second wave lead to the creation of MERCOSUR and CAN, and were initially modeled after the European Union. In the 1990's, the third wave of regionalism took place and was called New Regionalism. It tried to respond to the 1970's and 1980's years of economic crisis and stalemate by opening up integration systems and introducing export promotion and market competitiveness. At that time, regionalist efforts were aimed at increasing the region's attractability in the global political economy, especially by means of trade liberalisation. Then with the turn of the millennium, the latest wave of regionalism kicked in and has been labeled to Strategic Regionalism. As many countries turned to the left and saw the national development strategy, new regional integration schemes such as ALBA and UNASUR were created. These four ways of regionalism and two different types of interpreting Latin America as a region have led to a complex landscape of regional integration systems. Organizations and mechanisms, which are often overlapping, and sometimes even contradicting each other. In this table, you have an overview of most of Latin America's regional integration systems. The table provides you with an overview of their history and members, their institutions and mechanisms, the policy areas in which it is active and finally, also the limitations of the current framework. If you look closely to this table, which is also in your reader list, you will actually see how multifacet and multilayered the content period in Latin America regional architecture is. Take, for example, the case of Equador. Imagine he wants to corporate in the area of economic affairs. Then he can work through the OAS, through CELAC, CAN, and even UNASUR. So what have we learned in this video? Regionalism in Latin America is quite complex. If you have a close look at Latin American history, you see that regionalism has not conversed in a single initiative as it did on the European continent with the European Union. In fact, different regionalist waves and different interpretations of what Latin America is, or should be like, have led to a proliferation of different regional organizations in Latin America. These have often overlapping memberships, geographic reaches, and sometimes complementing and even competing political, economic, and social agendas. Hence, rather than through enlargement on the European continent, regionalism in Latin America has evolved through the creation and the recreation of regional schemes, and can, therefore, best be labelled as eclectic, multifaceted, and multilayered.
