THE POLITICS OF SMALL STATES: Paraguay, Uruguay and Mercosur's external agenda

• Grant number: 24/13017-3
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: December 01, 2024
• End date: November 30, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Political Science - International Politics
• Principal Investigator: Guilherme Augusto Guimarães Ferreira
• Grantee: Guilherme Augusto Guimarães Ferreira
• Host Institution: Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus Osasco. Osasco , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 25/02357-0 - Paraguay, Uruguay and Mercosur's External Agenda: Data Collection and Interviews, BP.TT; 24/20650-4 - Paraguayan Foreign Policy and Mercosur's External Agenda, BP.IC; 24/20663-9 - Uruguayan Foreign Policy and Mercosur's External Agenda, BP.IC

Abstract

This project proposes a study on the performance of Paraguay and Uruguay in The Southern Common Market (Mercosur) with the objective of identifying the expectations, interests and foreign policy strategies of both countries, in order to understand how they have influenced Mercosur's external negotiation agenda. The initial theoretical framework of this project will be developed from the concept of the ''small state'' and from discussions around the role of institutions as a platform for expanding their capacities of influence. Based on this, the aim is to map out the priority issues and agendas for both countries within the scope of Mercosur's external negotiations, especially those in which there are divergent positions between the bloc's Member States; identify and describe how Paraguay and Uruguay governments have acted and voted on the previously identified agendas, as well as the level of success of both countries in each of them; and discuss how Paraguay and Uruguay have impacted Mercosur external negotiations. Methodologically, it is proposed the use of Process-Tracing and triangulation between bibliographic sources, documents and interviews with political actors. Thus, in addition to the case studied, we aim to contribute to the debate on the role of small states in regional integration processes from a South American perspective. (AU)