Search

The international system is in a period of transition, marked by a weakening of multilateralism, challenges to the liberal order and the consolidation of new global leaderships. In addition, various cross-border crises, like the COVID-19 pandemic, have compounded the effects of these changes at a regional level. Given this context, what room is there for regional cooperation in Latin America? As a tool for regional coordination and integration into international flows and dynamics, regionalism can boast achievements, but challenges remain. In analytical terms, this paper proposes an approach that enables an examination of the combination of interests, ideas and institutions at play on a regional level in Latin America. The central argument is that the changing dynamics of regionalism are a product of the way in which states' interests interact with ideas about the region in a specific institutional environment over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What is democracy's place in the shifting international order? There is a fear that a more geopolitical order will only aggravate the general crisis of democracy; or that a more plural order will dilute the efforts to defend the rules governing it. Yet, while recent political and normative trends corroborate this concern, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has in some ways given greater prominence to the defence of democratic values around the world. This paper explores the impact that geopolitical tensions and shifting international order on global democracy. And in the context of the crisis of meaning affecting democracies, it examines whether Russia's war in Ukraine has served both as a catalyst of the international dimensions of support for democracy and as a factor magnifying its fragility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The liberal international order established after the end of the Cold War is currently an order in transition. The shift in material power - following the rise of China - is necessary to understanding the changes in the international order, but it is not the whole story. We are seeing both material and ideational changes. The present moment is one of rules under challenge. But the normative contestation the international order is facing is not just about the rivalry between China and the United States or the tired description of "the rest against the West"; its parameters are more complex and diverse. To demonstrate that, this paper looks at three very different issues on the international agenda: a) governance of the Internet, b) sexual and reproductive rights and c) migration management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the introduction to the 40th anniversary issue of Revista CIDOB d'Afers Internacionals, this paper looks at developments in international relations over the last four decades, alongside the publication's content and against the backdrop of the current crisis of the international order (or disorder). It spans the end of the Cold War and the faith deposited in globalisation and liberal democracy in the unipolar world of the mid-1990s, taking in the spread of the values and ideas of global governance at the end of the last century, before arriving at the growing multipolarity, rivalry between China and the United States and the challenge to the liberal order and permacrisis of recent years. Special mention is made of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia's war in Ukraine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to describe the historical evolution of the cooperation between the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON) and Mexico following the signing of their cooperation agreement in August 1975, which remained in effect until COMECON'S demise in 1991. To this end, a brief analysis is made of the antecedents of this international body, which was created within the so-called socialist bloc, and a review is conducted of the body's conception of international cooperation. After covering the historical context behind the mentioned agreement's negotiation, its legal framework, context and scope are reviewed. This paper thereby seeks to contribute to the historical memory of cooperation policy and its international regime, with particular reference to COMECON and Mexico in the period known as the Cold War. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trilateral South-South Cooperation (TSSC) for development has generated great debate over whether these alliances constitute a new paradigm for development or merely disguise a new form of imperialism. Beyond categorisations, this paper presents a more nuanced image and examines the focus of TSSC solidarity, specifically, the intrinsically political nature of development and the unequal power relations at its heart. Starting with the TSSC memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Brazil, Mozambique and the World Bank, the narratives are analysed of agricultural development and the social imaginaries that support it in order to better understand the patterns and motivations of solidarity. By showing the colonial, capitalist and patriarchal rationale that persists in the conception of solidarity used in the current development framework, this paper proposes the decolonisation of this concept. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this introductory paper is to contextualise, via a historiographical reflection, the nine papers selected for this special edition of Revista CIDOB d'Afers Internacionals, which focuses on "using past international cooperation to rethink development", prioritising "alternative critical approaches". As the historical perspective is missing from most publications in this shared field of Development Studies and International Relations, this introduction presents original works - for their empirical, comparative and/or theoretical contribution - in contrast to the prevailing interpretative frameworks (interdependentist from International Relations, and problem-solving from Development Studies), giving a voice to authors and problems from the countries of the South both as aid recipients and as cooperation providers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2008 crisis marked the end of globalisation as a historical phase and hegemonic order. The end of the commodities cycle, an expression of that change in Latin America, is the context for the rise of new neo-patriotic far-right forces - nationalist, sovereigntist movements deploying distinctly anti-globalist rhetoric. Global and national structural and agency factors are examined and the paper begins with the rise of Latin American neo-patriotic right-wing movements. Analysing their foreign policy and international integration matrices shows that common elements include alignment with the United States and the contestation of multilateralism and regional institutions and norms. Finally, consideration is given to the extent to which the rise of new Latin American rightwing movements form part of a global trend or cycle of contesting the liberal international order and globalisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of development cooperation is said to lie outside the core of the international relations (IR) discipline. However, academic production on this subject is abundant. This paper carries out a systematic ordering of the most relevant literature by analysing the evolution of its debates (differences, coexistence, separation and combination of different theoretical perspectives). This journey allows us to observe how the transformations in the international order and the theoretical evolution of the discipline established four axes of debate: a) the nature of foreign aid; b) the methods of studying aid policies; c) the deep forces behind aid policies; and d) the ways of understanding aid and development. Given the current divide in the subfield between rationalists and reflectivists, the need is postulated for theoretical dialogue, methodological robustness and a greater emphasis on research on the Global South. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines secondary sanctions as part of the triangular relations between the United States, the European Union and Cuba. The analysis - built on Dittmer's (1981) strategic triangle theory and Womack's (2016) studies of asymmetric relationships - questions the evaluation of sanctions carried out by the US Departments of State, Commerce and the Treasury, noting that, by prioritising the impact on the target's economy, the evaluation ignores other fundamental effects of the sanctions in terms of triangular relations with allies and alternative powers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Subnational governments entering the international arena through lobbying may be a turning point in global governance, but numerous challenges remain at regional level. This paper charts a municipal geography of the planet that is strongly conditioned by its capacity to respond to the dynamics of urbanisation and rural depopulation, and reflects on the need to structure more representative, supportive regional governance. With the global implementation of the 2030 Agenda focussing on the ability of local governments to institutionalise the "right to the city" and "leave no one behind", the regional level becomes the ground in which territorial intermediation can help germinate the right to "leave no municipality behind". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes to examine the growing influence of city networks as international actors based on the theoretical tools provided by the literature on global governance and, in particular, the concept of norm entrepreneurs. Taking the "right to the city" as a case study, it is argued that it could be conceptualised as an emerging global norm, promoted by international municipalism as an alternative to the prevailing urban development model. Using discourse analysis and comparing the networks United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) and the Global Platform for the Right to the City (PGDC), conclusions are drawn on the evolution of this concept's definition and the specific meanings that have been linked to it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents and contextualises issue 123 of Revista CIDOB d'Afers Internationals on "International municipalism and the right to the city: cities in the age of globalisation". To do this, it outlines the trajectory of the right to the city, from the streets to the institutional world. While the right to the city has been written about extensively, its incorporation into international municipalism remains little explored in academic literature. This is the added value of the analysis contained in this monograph, the results of which are set out in its seven articles. More than answering established questions, the topics expanded upon here raise new questions and propose a new agenda for research and discussion on the contradictions and challenges of the right to the city, with all that it entails. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses and compares the roles of the Comfort Women Justice Coalition (CWJC) in the United States and Justice for Comfort Women UK (JCW) during the cycle of protests unleashed by the transnational 'comfort women' advocacy network between December 28th 2015 and September 30th 2016. The central hypothesis of the work is that the emergence of diasporic activism ' in this case in defence of 'comfort women' ' does not constitute an isomorphic pattern of activism from abroad nor of linkage with the dominant actors in the transnational network. By combining classic discussions of movements and social networks with recent contributions on political activism in the diaspora, a qualitative case study is presented based on institutional material and semi-structured interviews with members of the JCW and the CWJC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taking the answers of over fifty Latin American scholars to a survey as its foundation, this paper analyses the features of the global and Latin American context and presents some of the potential areas for its development over the coming decade. To do this, the number of poles in the system is considered along with the logics of cooperation and competition that predominate in the relations between countries. In addition, an analysis is made of how different countries define a 'region' in their foreign policy, and the reasons behind Brazil losing its leadership position and Mexico's potential role in the region are set out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides a methodological framework for a critical analysis of EU-funded development cooperation policies towards the Central American region between 2007 and 2013. The aim is to identify certain recurring elements that allow the systematisation of the main imbalances of these transnational public policies to be advanced. It also seeks to contribute to understanding the complexity of implementing policies, such as those on international cooperation, in a diffuse global governance scenario in which legal and institutional frameworks are still weak - not to say non-existent - and collective action is complex and multilevel. It can help us understand why these policies have been ineffective in their attempt to compensate the losers of globalisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

South-South cooperation between Brazil, Chile and Venezuela and developing country partners in Africa, Asia and the Middle East showed great dynamism from 2000 to 2010. This paper questions the specificity of the activities carried out by these three countries. Taking the studies of sociologist Marcel Mauss on donation as a starting point, it observes that these actors see their cooperative action as self-interested, which should come as no surprise from an anthropological perspective. So, although South- South cooperation is symbolised by three ideals (horizontality, reciprocity and equality), the three countries differentiate the content of projects according to the recipient country. Though nuances exist, generally reciprocity is respected only to a degree with emerging partners and not at all with other developing countries. Such practices contradict the original conception of South-South cooperation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After the Second World War, Japan began paying war reparations and instituted a strategy of international positioning - based on international cooperation activities - that aimed to ensure the supply of natural resources to its production and trade. Economic security became the target of Japanese cooperation. Japan soon became a major donor, whose strategy has been permeated by its interests. Taking a critical perspective, this paper analyses the evolution of the Japanese cooperation strategy, in particular the changes promoted by the prime minister, Shinzo Abe. Its starting point is a review of the stages of Japanese cooperation (emphasising the outside interference the country has had to respond to), the underpinning of which has shifted from the principle of economic security via the principle of human security to its present greater focus on strategic security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on the role of regional institutions and political practices in strengthening multilateral disarmament and non-proliferation regimes. Particular attention is devoted to coordination between Brazil and Argentina with a view to forging a "South American position" visavis the Biological and Toxins Weapons Convention (BTWC). Empirical evidence suggests that informal arrangements between the two countries were capable of involving other South American leaders and promoting the exchange of information among different groups of states, most notably during the 2006 BTWC review conference. This paper also sheds light on the identification of specific features that allow for increasing visibility and actorness of regional powers in promoting universality of multilateral security regimes (MSR), as well as the limitations faced by these players. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]