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There has been a change in international politics since the 2008 financial crisis, thanks to a greater spread of economic resources and military capabilities. For many, it is a radical transformation that could spell the end of US hegemony in Latin America. This paper examines the proposition, beginning with a review of the concept of hegemony, which rather than being viewed as a structural characteristic is conceived of here as a "nuanced hegemony", in other words a network of asymmetric and hierarchical relations. We can observe not just one transformation then, but the emergence of a hemispheric context that could be described as "differentiated hegemony". The United States still occupies a central position, but its foreign policy is marked by subregional fragmentation and the externalisation of electoral priorities. The paper explores the effects at subregional level, focusing on the opportunities and challenges it presents to Latin American countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a world of growing international competition and rivalry between China and the United States, Latin America and the European Union (EU) are caught in the same thorny dilemma. Positioned between these global giants, both regions are facing a retorn to a Westphalian system of nation-states, which undermines their roles as emerging regional players. In view of these new global challenges in Latin America and the EU, this paper uses a qualitative and comparative approach to explore foreign policy discourses on autonomy in both regions. It examines their goals and priorities and assesses the potential regional and interregional consequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper addresses the issue of whether – in line with the Chinese economic approximation to Latin America during the last decade – the region has experienced political changes in terms of countries' foreign policies, shifting their traditional alignment with the positions of the regional hegemon, the United States. Given this general focus, the research project focuses on evaluating a specific issue of global governance: climate change policy. Here I find a marked difference between the Chinese and the US position, constituting two opposing poles between which Latin American countries must operate. I consider the cases of two countries, Brazil and Chile, in terms of their discursive location between China and the United States on global climate change policy. I was able to identify discursive changes throughout the decade that suggest a political alignment of the two Latin American countries with China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents a general analysis of the relations among United States and Latin America considering issues such as the questioning of the US centrality globally and in the hemisphere, Brazil's policies to the region and the impact of the growing relations with China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been extensive debate about the putative imperial dimensions of critical race studies in Latin America. The concern is that U.S. racial discourses, identities and anti-racist strategies are being inappropriately applied to Latin America. Those who disagree with this position, including us, argue that it is legitimate to take insights and understandings gleaned in the United States as tools for challenging racism in Latin America. However we also believe that the exchange of ideas regarding effective anti-racist strategies should flow in both directions. In fact we argue in this paper that those concerned with advancing current thinking about race and racial policy in the U.S. could glean a number of invaluable insights from a more serious study of Latin American racial formations. It is with this aim in mind that we provide an overview of a number of key findings from the historical and social scientific literature on race and racism in Latin America. Specifically we discuss the track record in Latin America of a number of antiracist strategies, which are currently advocated in the U.S. by numerous opinion makers, policy makers and scholars such as race mixing, minimization of racial consciousness, colorblindness, and multiculturalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores a minimalist approach to the recently created Community of South American Nations. Based on the experience of the currently weakened process of integration it argues that the principles of concentration, gradualism and concreteness are essential to future actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]