Venezuela, ALBA, and the Limits of Postneoliberal Regionalism in Latin America and the Caribbean

Venezuela, ALBA, and the Limits of Postneoliberal Regionalism in Latin America and the Caribbean PDF Author: Asa K. Cusack
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 1349950033
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 226

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Book Description
This book provides a comprehensive analysis of the implementation, functioning, and impact of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA), cornerstone of Venezuelan foreign policy and standard-bearer of “postneoliberal” regionalism during the “Left Turn” in Latin America and the Caribbean (1998-2016). It reveals that cooperation via ALBA’s regionalised social missions, state multinationals, development bank, People’s Trade Agreement, SUCRE virtual currency, and Petrocaribe soft-loan scheme has often been hampered by complexity and conflict between the national political economies of Ecuador, Dominica, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Antigua and Barbuda, and especially Venezuela. Shared commitments to endogenous development, autonomy within mutlipolarity, and novel sources of legitimacy are undermined by serious deficiencies in control and accountability, which stem largely from the defining influence of Venezuela’s dysfunctional economy and governance. This dual dependency on Venezuela leaves the future of ALBA hanging in the balance.

Venezuela, ALBA, and the Limits of Postneoliberal Regionalism in Latin America and the Caribbean

Venezuela, ALBA, and the Limits of Postneoliberal Regionalism in Latin America and the Caribbean PDF Author: Asa K. Cusack
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 1349950033
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 226

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Book Description
This book provides a comprehensive analysis of the implementation, functioning, and impact of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA), cornerstone of Venezuelan foreign policy and standard-bearer of “postneoliberal” regionalism during the “Left Turn” in Latin America and the Caribbean (1998-2016). It reveals that cooperation via ALBA’s regionalised social missions, state multinationals, development bank, People’s Trade Agreement, SUCRE virtual currency, and Petrocaribe soft-loan scheme has often been hampered by complexity and conflict between the national political economies of Ecuador, Dominica, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Antigua and Barbuda, and especially Venezuela. Shared commitments to endogenous development, autonomy within mutlipolarity, and novel sources of legitimacy are undermined by serious deficiencies in control and accountability, which stem largely from the defining influence of Venezuela’s dysfunctional economy and governance. This dual dependency on Venezuela leaves the future of ALBA hanging in the balance.

Understanding ALBA

Understanding ALBA PDF Author: Asa K. Cusack
Publisher: University of London Press
ISBN: 9781908857224
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
This edited collection is only the second academic publication dedicated solely to Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA), the "Left Turn" regional project founded by Venezuela and Cuba in 2004 and since expanded to Bolivia, Ecuador, Nicaragua, and much of the Anglophone Caribbean. As ALBA celebrates its first decade, this book offers a considered, critical, and comprehensive account of the project. This work provides insights into all manner of unanswered questions: among others, the roles and involvement of member-states both central and peripheral; the nature of ALBA governance; the sustainability of the project; its effect on domestic politics; and the true nature and extent of specific initiatives. Bringing together scholars from across ideological divides, the book provides a comprehensive analysis of ALBA's successes and failures, evaluating the project's viability and mapping possible future trajectories. The opacity of ALBA and its member-states, and the perplexing lack of research into ALBA despite its significance, makes the contribution of this edited volume a particularly valuable one.

The Rise of Post-Hegemonic Regionalism

The Rise of Post-Hegemonic Regionalism PDF Author: Pía Riggirozzi
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9400726945
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 204

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Book Description
This book offers a timely analysis, and a novel and nuanced argument about post-neoliberal models of regional governance in non-European contexts. It provides the first in-depth, empirically-driven analysis of current models of regional governance in Latin America that emerged out of the crisis of liberalism in the region. It contributes to comparative studies of the contemporary global political economy as it advances current literature on the topic by analysing distinctive, overlapping and conflicting trajectories of regionalism in Latin America. The book critically explores models of transformative regionalism and specific dimensions articulating those models beyond neoliberal consensus-building. As such it contests the overstated case of integration as converging towards global capitalism. It provides an analytical framework that not only examines the 'what, how, who and why' in the emergence of a specific form of regionalism but sets the ground for addressing two relevant questions that will push the study of regionalism further: What factors enable or constrain how transformative a given regionalism is (or can be) with respect to the powers and policies of states encompassed by it? and: What factors govern how resilient a given regionalism is likely to be under changing political and economic conditions?

Resilience of Regionalism in Latin America and the Caribbean

Resilience of Regionalism in Latin America and the Caribbean PDF Author: Andrés Rivarola Puntigliano
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 1137328371
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 359

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Book Description
As regionalisation becomes an increasingly hot topic, the authors explain why regionalism has been most successful in Latin America and analyse current processes and opinions of possible future developments in the region, including the Caribbean, Central America, Brazil, and Mexico.

Implementing the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA)

Implementing the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA) PDF Author: Asa K. Cusack
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description


Regional Integration in Latin America and the Caribbean

Regional Integration in Latin America and the Caribbean PDF Author: V. Bulmer-Thomas
Publisher: University of London Press
ISBN:
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 340

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Book Description
This collection is a sober assessment of the state of regional integration in Latin America and the Caribbean. It studies the question from four perspectives: economic, institutional, political, and in relation to the rest of the world. It considers the questions raised by LAC countries' efforts to use 'new' regionalism to address the challenges of globalization and to explore the nature and meaning of open regionalism. This thematic treatment draws on the experience of the different schemes currently in place in the region: NAFTA, CACM, CARICOM, the Andean Community and MERCOSUR. It also examines the nature of globalization, including concerns over the relationship between regionalism and the multilateral system. There is now a broad consensus among LAC countries that regional integration can help them adjust to the new world order, but there is much less agreement on how to achieve it and what reforms are needed to bring it about.

The Bolivarian Revolution, Regional Integration and Development

The Bolivarian Revolution, Regional Integration and Development PDF Author: Rodrigo Acuña
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781138998742
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 196

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Book Description
Drawing from an impressive selection of primary sources, interviews with government officials and international relations literature, Rodrigo Acuña investigates Venezuela's foreign policy towards Latin America and the Caribbean under the Bolivarian revolution. Focusing predominantly on the era of Hugo Chávez (1999-2012), Acuña demonstrates how Venezuela has become an important protagonist in forging greater unity in the region. While internationally Chávez was often portrayed by the Western media as an eccentric politician, who sought to make alliances with regimes that were hostile to Washington, the reality was often more complex. Taking its problems and setbacks into consideration, this book contends that Caracas has implemented rational policies in the area of international affairs in an attempt to break away from U.S. hegemony and create a multipolar world in which Latin America occupies a prominent and independent space. Starting with an examination of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas (ALBA), this book notes why the alliance today encompasses some 20 countries. As with ALBA, Venezuela's oil diplomacy (Petrocaribe) successes as well as some of its weaknesses in the Caribbean and Central America also need to be taken account. Focusing mainly on Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), this book also argues that the bloc has become a crucial player in discussing regional conflicts, often out manoeuvring and even challenging the U.S.-led Organization of American States (OAS). Rodrigo Acuña concludes with reflections of Venezuela's foreign policy since the death of Chávez. Focusing on some of president's Nicolás Maduro's domestic problems, he argues that Venezuela's role in the region should not be overlooked in the post-Chávez era as this South American country still has numerous resources and allies throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. These tools still give Venezuela the ability to shape the region away from U.S. hegemony despite continuing domestic political issues. The Bolivarian Revolution, Regional Integration and Development reminds its readers that when studied critically, Venezuela's influence in shaping Latin America and the Caribbean is far greater than it is often given credit for, despite the fact that there are real limitations as to what a Third World state can achieve.

The Reconfiguration of Twenty-first Century Latin American Regionalism

The Reconfiguration of Twenty-first Century Latin American Regionalism PDF Author: Rowan Lubbock
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1000800865
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 178

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Book Description
This cutting-edge volume brings together a diverse roster of scholars to shed light on the reconfiguration of twenty-first century Latin American regionalism. Reflecting on both the multiplicity of regional integration across Latin America (LA) and the theoretically pluralist turn in contemporary scholarship on LA politics and International Relations, this edited volume proposes an ‘integrative pluralist’ methodology to deciphering the complexity of regionalisation projects, from both above and below. The book charts the contemporary evolution of older regionalisation schemes, such as the Common Market of the South (MERCOSUR), as well as more recent twenty-first century regional innovations, including the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America-Peoples Trade Treaty (ALBA-TCP), Pacific Alliance (AP), and the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR). Complementing this more traditional institutional perspective, the book also charts the underexplored dynamics of regionalism from below, in the context of region-wide networks of political organisation among indigenous and peasant movements. Set against the backdrop of a more critical reading of the historical origins of regionalism, this volume aims to contribute to the ever-growing conversation among scholars within and beyond Latin America on the actors, processes, contradictions, and prospects for regional cooperation. In offering a more holistic perspective on Latin American regionalism from above and below, this volume will be of interest to both newcomers to the field and more seasoned scholars working within/across disciplinary boundaries, from International Relations and International Political Economy to Historical Sociology and Institutionalism. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of Globalizations.

Handbook of International Trade Agreements

Handbook of International Trade Agreements PDF Author: Robert E. Looney
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351046942
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 493

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Book Description
International trade has, for decades, been central to economic growth and improved standards of living for nations and regions worldwide. For most of the advanced countries, trade has raised standards of living, while for most emerging economies, growth did not begin until their integration into the global economy. The economic explanation is simple: international trade facilitates specialization, increased efficiency and improved productivity to an extent impossible in closed economies. However, recent years have seen a significant slowdown in global trade, and the global system has increasingly come under attack from politicians on the right and on the left. The benefits of open markets, the continuation of international co-operation, and the usefulness of multilateral institutions such as the World Trade Organization (WTO), the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank have all been called into question. While globalization has had a broadly positive effect on overall global welfare, it has also been perceived by the public as damaging communities and social classes in the industrialized world, spawning, for example, Brexit and the US exit from the Trans-Pacific Partnership. The purpose of this volume is to examine international and regional preferential trade agreements (PTAs), which offer like-minded countries a possible means to continue receiving the benefits of economic liberalization and expanded trade. What are the strengths and weaknesses of such agreements, and how can they sustain growth and prosperity for their members in an ever-challenging global economic environment? The Handbook is divided into two parts. The first, Global Themes, offers analysis of issues including the WTO, trade agreements and economic development, intellectual property rights, security and environmental issues, and PTAs and developing countries. The second part examines regional and country-specific agreements and issues, including NAFTA, CARICOM, CETA, the Pacific Alliance, the European Union, EFTA, ECOWAS, SADC, TTIP, RCEP and the TPP (now the CPTPP), as well as the policies of countries such as Japan and Australia.

Deepening Democracy in Post-Neoliberal Bolivia and Venezuela

Deepening Democracy in Post-Neoliberal Bolivia and Venezuela PDF Author: John Brown
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000546152
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 248

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Book Description
This book provides a timely and nuanced analysis of the successes and shortcoming of efforts to move beyond market democracy in Bolivia and Venezuela. A twin crisis of democratic representation and socio-economic precarity created space for anti-system outsiders to emerge on the left flank of traditional party-systems in Bolivia and Venezuela, paving the way for a "post-neoliberal" democratization process. Over the course of the projects headed by Evo Morales in Bolivia and Hugo Chávez and his successor Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela, however, power struggles emerged between a recalcitrant elite, the left-led government, and organized popular sectors. These tensions shaped the pathways that processes followed, with simultaneous democratization and de-democratization occurring whereby a partial deepening and extending of democratic quality for popular sectors was accompanied by the bending of liberal norms. Comparing the varying balance and forms of power between competing actors, this book offers a novel and rich explanation of the partial and stuttering efforts to advance a post-neoliberal democracy in Bolivia and Venezuela. Bringing important insights on the reasons for the emergence of anti-system leaders and parties, the impact that they have on the quality of democracy, and how progressive governments interact with social movements, this book will be of interest to researchers studying Latin America, as well as those specializing in development and political science more broadly.