Integration strategies in the Southern Cone: A comparison of Argentina, Brazil and Chile.

Abstract

This thesis will demonstrate how the changes in the international system have influenced the Southern Cone countries of South America (i.e. Argentina, Brazil and Chile) to adapt their trade strategies between themselves and the major industrial powers. It will also examine how the domestic forces limit or enhance the ability of a given country to respond to these changes. It is argued that because multilateralism is insufficient in protecting the interests of the developing economies at the periphery of the major trade blocs (i.e. the United States and its NAFTA partners, the European Union, and Japan and the East Asian NICs), sub-regional integration offers an alternative strategy for these countries. Within this strategy of regional integration, three policy options are available; sub-regional integration as a form of counter balance to the trade blocs, sub-regionalism as a preparatory step into a trade bloc, and unilateral bloc entry. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)