A new regional unit - South America - is
emerging. This is a more definable and
self-contained geostrategic concept as
opposed to Latin America. But does this
make regional integration any easier?
This article adopts a sceptical view. Not
only South America is characterised by
numerous and competing schemes of
regional integration but the three most
prominent of them, MERCOSUR, ALBA,
and UNASUR offer divergent responses
to the fundamental questions that have
historically characterised attempts
at regionalism in Latin America: The
relation towards the international
leading power, the United States; the
role of the regional leader or paymaster,
Brazil; and the economic and
development model to be adopted. The
conclusion proposes an infant theory
of regional convergence to achieve
regional cohesion as a suggestion for
further research and testing.
