Regional integration in Latin America: clash of theories

PERROTTA, DANIELA

La Habana

Workshop; Havana Workshop on Local International Relations; 2017

ISA Global South Caucus

The hegemonic position within the field studies of regional integration (RI) in Latin America (LA) has tried to understand our regional integration schemes through lens made for other latitudes: mainly, European Integration Studies and the New Regionalism Theory. This conceptual stretching results in decontextualized analysis and reflects the peripheral position of LA social science within the global dynamics of knowledge production. Therefore, this papers aims at analysing how an array of theories have explained RI processes in LA since the mid-fifties up to date. Schools of thought, epistemic communities, regional and/or international institutions have nurtured theory-building in IR by taking stock of foreign constructs as well as providing autonomic and critical knowledge