Advanced master thesis | Political Science (Advanced Master)
open access
UNASUR currently represents one of the most promising regionalization projects currently taking place. One of its unique characteristics is the high level of security sector integration that has...Show moreUNASUR currently represents one of the most promising regionalization projects currently taking place. One of its unique characteristics is the high level of security sector integration that has already taken place in the short few years since its inception. This is particularly interesting as it is in stark contrast with the security sector regionalization of Europe. Despite its much longer history of regionalization, European security sector integration is still fragmented into many different organizations with overlapping goals, and whose members often include countries outside the European boarder. In the face of this apparent success in its regionalist ambitions, one can not help but question: What is the logic behind South American security sector regionalism under UNASUR? Furthermore, how and why does its regionalists efforts differ from those of the EU? Through an analysis of how Regional Security Complex Theory, New Regionalism Approach, and Post-Hegemonic Regionalism interpret both the genesis and functionality of UNASUR, one is able to find some important insights with regards to South America’s security sector integration. Geographically contingent security concerns, intensified by the impacts of globalization, has lead South American states to pursuit a unique security arrangement, which rejects the neoliberal orthodoxy and the hegemonic presence of the United States. Unlike Europe, South America’s security complex does not overlap with other regions and, most importantly, does not include the presence of the United Sates. Furthermore, Europe has carried over many of its Cold War era security mechanisms, in large part due to its embrace of the Washington Consensus and the neoliberal economic orthodoxy. This analysis addresses the broader issues regarding the transferability of theoretical approaches across different regions, but perhaps more interestingly it hints at the potential for the wider security regionalization of the Americas, and whether it will seek to align with, or reject the presence of the US hegemon.Show less
