The Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) agenda-setting and institutional design

• Grant number: 13/11234-2
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Visiting Researcher Grant - International
• Start date: March 01, 2014
• End date: March 31, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Political Science - International Politics
• Principal Investigator: Deisy de Freitas Lima Ventura
• Grantee: Deisy de Freitas Lima Ventura
• Visiting researcher: Olivier Dabene
• Visiting researcher institution: Fondation Nationale des Sciences Politiques (Sciences Po), France
• Host Institution: Instituto de Relações Internacionais (IRI). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Since the 1960s, regional integration agreements (RIAs) in Latin America have crafted agendas mainly centered on trade and have been granted, or progressively acquired complex institutional arrangements. Against this backdrop, the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) seems to represent a trend break. Created in 2008, its agenda does not include trade, and its institutional scheme is very modest. How can such an outstanding feature be explained? Are UNASUR promoters' initial choices sustainable? This project will answer these questions, generating a theoretically framed case study. (AU)