The Political Role of Regional Economic Organisations in Latin America

Abstract

In a recent study² we stated that the national political systems of Latin America constitute ‘open systems’ which operate under the ever-growing influence of external elements that are sometimes beyond their control. After the great changes which took place in the international context since the last world war, Latin American political systems could not be studied as if they were closed systems operating independently from the events that take place beyond their national frontiers. The traditional distinction between the study of national politics and international relations does not match reality any more, and it would be more sensible to study national political systems by trying to identify the relative influence of internal factors arising within the political system itself — and that of external factors arising totally or partially outside the system which often act with the same or even greater strength than the former in determining the state and process of the system. National and international politics form a continuum and should be considered separately only for analytical purposes, to find out how the interactions between internal and external political factors may occur in a particular situation or period.

The contents of this chapter reflect the author’s personal opinion and do not express or commit necessarily the opinion of the Institute for Latin American Integration (INTAL).