Peru Restarts War of the Pacific with UN Lawsuit against Chile

2009-03-21T13:59:00.021-04:00

Southern Affairs (March 21, 2009) -- Peru, home of the ancient Incan Empire, is trying to win back by reason what it lost by force. On March 19, Peru asked the United Nations to settle a century-old dispute with its southern neighbor Chile over some of South America's richest fishing grounds.Jose Garcia Belaunde, Peru's foreign minister, wants the UN's International Court of Justice in The Hague

Unasur Defense Ministers Play Down Regional Conflicts at South American Summit

2009-03-10T18:33:00.025-04:00

March 10 (Southern Affairs) -- Unasur's defense ministers met again in Santiago today to kick off the South American Defense Council. Amid handshakes and congratulations, the ministers emphasized the historic nature of the meeting which they say will help ensure peace and democracy throughout the continent.What the ministers did not discuss publicly was how they planned to reestablish functional

Unasur Defense Summit Unable To Reach Consensus

2008-06-27T16:48:00.007-04:00

(June 27, 2008) One month ago the presidents of South America formally created the Union of South American Nations. While no one was fooled by the momentary goodwill for very long, the proposal to create a South American Defense Council did raise heads. Well, those heads can go back to whatever it was they were doing earlier; South America has proved once again that it is all talk and no walk.

Democracy Strikes Again: The End Of 21st-Century Socialism?

2008-06-25T20:21:00.007-04:00

(June 25, 2008) The resignation of the President of Ecuador's Constitutional Assembly Alberto Acosta on June 23 is the latest in a series of setbacks for Latin America's 21st century socialists. With political conditions deteriorating in Venezuela, Bolivia, and Ecuador, it makes sense to ask – what happened to Latin America's socialist revolution? Where is the change their leaders promised to

Interview About Unasur With KALW 91.7FM San Francisco

2008-06-15T22:39:00.004-04:00

This is a link to a radio show about Unasur and the state of US-South American relations called Unsure about Unasur.The show's guests are Larry Birns, founder of the Council on Hemispheric Affairs, and Nathan Gill, publisher of this page. It was produced by Your Call KALW 91.7FM in San Francisco on Thursday, June 12, 2008.This show focuses on the perceived "left-ward" trend in South America and

Peru's Halts Jungle Highway Construction After Investigation Shows Design Wasn't Done

2008-06-09T15:24:00.000-04:00

June 9, 2008 (Southern Affairs) -- Peru's Transportation and Communications Minister Verónica Zavala announced May 27th that Unasur's highest profile project, an inter-oceanic highway connecting the Brazilian Atlantic with the Peruvian Pacific, was being investigated after discovering that it did not have a budget or engineering plans. The minister told a Congressional Committee that while

Unasur 2008 Summit: All Circus No Bread

2008-06-07T15:31:00.007-04:00

June 7, 2008 (Southern Affairs) -- It is unclear what the recent Unasur summit in Brasilia actually accomplished. Six months late and set against the backdrop of the worst regional conflict since the 1990s, the 12 presidents of South America tried hard to hide the growing divisions between their governments with lofty rhetoric of fraternity and integration but were unable to conceal the fact that

Ecuadorian Foreign Policy 2008

2008-05-28T12:49:00.009-04:00

Ecuadorian foreign policy is caught in a puzzling Catch 22. According to the Constitution of 1998, "The Foreign Service is in charge of conducting the international affairs of the Republic, pursuant to the Political Constitution of the State…"[1] but, as of September 30, 2007 this constitution was dissolved by a plenipotentiary Constitutional Assembly convoked to draft a new national charter.

Ecuadorian Foreign Policy: Traditions

2008-05-25T12:58:00.009-04:00

What are the relevant historic issues in Ecuador's foreign policy? Ecuador's diplomatic history has focused strategically on the preservation of sovereign territory and resources; politically on the amplification of its national prestige and influence through multilateral institutions and economically on the promotion of national trade through close relationships with the United States, the

Ecuadorian Foreign Policy: Actors and Institutions

2008-05-24T11:50:00.011-04:00

Who are the relevant actors in the creation of Ecuador's national foreign policy and what structures do they operate within? As mentioned, the current foreign policy organization is based on the institutional structure established in the 1998 Constitution. According to Article 2, "The Head of State, as Supreme Representative of the country and its sovereign rights abroad, is in charge of

South American Regional Integration Institutions: Unasur, ALADI, CAN and Mercosur

2008-05-23T13:17:00.005-04:00

There are four regional integration institutions in South America; CAN, MERCOSUR, ALADI, and UNASUR. The first two are subregional blocks representing nine of the 12 South American member countries of Unasur; neither is fully functional. [1]All the nations of South America, except for Guyana and Surinam, are members of ALADI. Its goals are similar to the Unasur. The only two non-South American

Chilean Foreign Policy: 2008

2008-04-22T11:24:00.009-04:00

What is Chile's current foreign policy? Chile's current foreign policy strongly resembles the foreign policy of the Portales period, emphasizing political neutrality, non-intervention, sovereign equality, regional stability, and commercial expansion. The types of problems it faces are also similar to that era, but not specific to it, insofar as it has yet to resolve territorial disputes with

Chilean Foreign Policy: Traditions

2008-04-21T19:37:00.008-04:00

What are the relevant historic issues in Chile's foreign policy?Since the early 1830s, Chile has developed a reputation for its pragmatic foreign policy, traditionally letting national interests take precedent over ideology. Starting from at least as early as the Prieto administration there was an explicit understanding of the challenges of Chile's situation,

Chilean Foreign Policy: Actors and Institutions

2008-04-19T12:59:00.015-04:00

Who are the relevant actors in the creation of Chile's national foreign policy and what structures do they operate within?Chile's current Constitution was approved in a national plebiscite in 1980 during the military dictatorship. It has since been amended nine times, but retains the strong executive tradition common in Chile since the end of the Parliamentary

Brazilian Foreign Policy: 2008

2008-04-17T11:37:00.009-04:00

What is Brazil's current foreign policy? "Brazil is not a small country. It does not, and it cannot, have the foreign policy of a small country."[1] These words, from the current Minister of External Relations express the essence of Brazil's foreign policy. It is a country in pursuit of major power status and, as such, is trying to change the global balance of power in its own favor.

Brazilian Foreign Policy: Traditions

2008-04-15T18:07:00.004-04:00

What are the historic conditions of Brazil's foreign policy? Like Argentina, we will divide the historic conditions of Brazil's foreign policy into three groups; strategic, political and economic. Strategically, Brazil (and Portugal during colonial times) has sought to expand its influence in South America and the South Atlantic. At times this involved aggressive policies with Argentina

Brazilian Foreign Policy: Actors and Institutions

2008-04-14T22:15:00.003-04:00

In this next section we will discuss Brazil's foreign policy. As we mentioned earlier, Brazil is unique among its neighbors, representing roughly half of the continent physically, economically, and in population, it is also the only nation in South America who is a major world player outside the region.[1] This fact is in large part due to its professional diplomatic service and the clear

Latin America News Review

2008-04-14T17:33:00.003-04:00

(Apr. 14, 2008) Here are some of the big issues to follow this week around Latin America. The EU begins a visit to Bolivia Monday to help mediate in the conflict over the new national constitution; the lower eastern half of the country has threatened secession over the current draft. Ecuador and Colombia renewed the cross-border verbal sniping with President Correa's critical comments in

Argentina's Foreign Policy: 2008

2008-04-13T13:37:00.010-04:00

What is Argentina's current foreign policy? To understand Argentina's current foreign policy it is necessary to understand the economic crisis of 2001 and its effect on what we are calling the 'current' policies of former President Nestor Kirchner and his wife, the current President, Cristina Fernandez. As we mentioned in the last section, the government of Carlos Menem embraced open

Argentina's Foreign Policy: Traditions

2008-04-11T14:52:00.009-04:00

What are the relevant historic issues in Argentina's foreign policy?The historic conditions of Argentina’s foreign policy can be divided into three groups; strategic, economic, and political. Strategically, Argentina has been preoccupied with containing Brazil and Chiles' influence in the southern cone, Perú in the Northwest, settling border conflicts with Chile, and

Argentina's Foreign Policy: Actors and Institutions

2008-04-09T16:56:00.016-04:00

Who are the relevant actors in the creation of national foreign policy and what structures do they operate within? The executive branch controls foreign policy in Argentina. It is composed of six secretaries, 10 ministers, a ministerial chief, and one military liaison; all appointed by the President.[1] While citizens have the right to propose legislation through their provincial representatives

South American Foreign Policy: Six Case Studies

2008-04-08T20:05:00.001-04:00

Our next several sections will focus on the national foreign policy goals of six South American nations; Argentina, Brasil, Chile, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. Our criteria for selecting these countries are as follows, Argentina, Brazil, and Chile were chosen because of their historical importance in regional balance of power politics. Venezuela was chosen because of its important role in the

"Open" and "Closed" Regionalism Theories

2008-04-03T15:50:00.005-04:00

(Apr. 3, 2008) The terms "Open" and "closed" regionalism refer to the degree in which regional blocks allow nonmember nations to access their markets. In this sense, an "open region" is one with few, if any, external trade restrictions while a "closed region" can be defined as one whose external trade policies seek to restrict commerce with nations outside the region. Closed regionalism as

"New" and "Old" Regionalism Theories

2008-04-02T15:29:00.006-04:00

(Apr. 2, 2008) Regionalism studies are those studies that focus on the middle layer of governance, between the state and the global, that emerge out of concerted processes of regional integration like the EU, the Arab League, NAFTA, CARICOM, and ASEAN. The first two theoretical explanations of this process in South America that we will discuss are New and Old Regionalism. New Regionalism is an

Regionalism and Globalization Theory

2008-04-02T12:14:00.005-04:00

(Apr. 2, 2008) The post Cold War emphasis on trade in global politics has elevated states on the basis of their market potential. This stands in contrast to the historic emphasis placed on ideological or security factors imposed by the bipolar international system in place from the Second World War until the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s. The logical response for smaller