From Gualeguaychú City to the World Court: Local Environmental Protest and Foreign Policy in Argentina

GUTIÉRREZ, RICARDO A. Y ALCAÑIZ, ISABELLA

Buçaco

Conferencia; VII International ISA-CISS Millennium Conference; 2007

International Studies Association

This paper examines how strategic, local protest led by environmentalists can trigger international disputes between neighboring countries. Specifically, we focus on the dispute over shared waters between Argentina and Uruguay, generated by the decision of the latter to build two pulp mills in a binational river (Uruguay River). From a contained protest in Argentina by local environmentalists the dispute quickly escalated, finally involving provincial and national authorities in both countries, and several international organizations, such as the International Court of Justice and the World Bank. How did a localized dispute in the low-priority area of environmental and water policy escalate to an international conflict between two friendly neighbors, like Argentina and Uruguay? We argue that precisely because environmental and water disputes rank low on the agenda of the Argentine government, environmentalists were better able to pressure the Kirchner administration into taking action against Uruguay after the protests reached extensive nation-wide coverage by the media. Constrained between two opposite goals ? to appease the environmental protests without repressing them and to keep the regional alliance with Uruguay ?, the Argentine government has so far tried diverse strategies to solve the country?s first bilateral dispute over environmental issues ? from direct negotiation with the firms involved to bilateral negotiations to international legal rulings.