The reassessment of Global South contribution to International Relations both in the past and present time, is a crucial challenge for academic research nowadays, constituting an issue that is...Show moreThe reassessment of Global South contribution to International Relations both in the past and present time, is a crucial challenge for academic research nowadays, constituting an issue that is worthy of interest and analysis for its implications on History and International Relations. This work aims to decentralize International Relations and make it less Eurocentric. To do so, the author reassessed the role of Latin American thinkers and diplomats in Human Rights theorization in the 1940s, to show that crucial theoretical developments were made outside the Global North. In detail, this thesis argues that the region has actively participated in the construction of the language of human rights instead of simply receiving ideas and concepts from the Global North. It focuses on the Larreta Doctrine, a doctrine developed in Uruguay that tackled multilateralism, sovereignty and the violation of human rights. Eduardo Rodriguez Larreta, then Uruguayan Foreign Minister, theorized this Doctrine in 1945, in response to the dualism between sovereignty and international Rights protection hardly felt in the Latin American Region. So, Larreta thought that the idea that non-intervention in states’ domestic affairs is conditional to the respect for citizens’ fundamental rights. Moreover, the Uruguayan Foreign Minister stated that a precommitment regime and collective intervention are not a violation of sovereignty.Show less
When discussing progressive politics, Uruguay stands out as the most secular and socially inclusive of all Latin American nations (Encanarción 2016, 9). Moreover, with marijuana, abortion and same...Show moreWhen discussing progressive politics, Uruguay stands out as the most secular and socially inclusive of all Latin American nations (Encanarción 2016, 9). Moreover, with marijuana, abortion and same-sex marriage being legalized, Uruguay has solidified its position amongst the most progressive countries worldwide. With regards to the inclusion of the homosexual community, most interesting is the high rate of general acceptance of homosexuality by the Uruguayan population. This is where the country strongly differentiates itself from the rest of the region; it is the only country in the region where the majority of the population expressed favorability towards same-sex marriage. This raises the question as to how it is possible that a country in the rather conservative Latin American region manages to exert such a progressive discourse.Show less
In 2013, the small Latin American republic of Uruguay became the first country in the world to legalise the production, distribution and possession of cannabis, whether it be for recreational,...Show moreIn 2013, the small Latin American republic of Uruguay became the first country in the world to legalise the production, distribution and possession of cannabis, whether it be for recreational, medical or scientific research purposes. This move has received harsh criticism and at the same time was hailed as ‘the tipping point in the War on Drugs’. This thesis will assess the origins of the policies as put forward by the Uruguayan state. The thesis is divided in three chapters. The first chapter will provide the academic debate surrounding legalisation of drugs in general and cannabis legalisation in particular, and the most important arguments in favour of, as well as against legalisation. The second chapter will provide the historical and international context of the Uruguayan drug policies up to legalisation in 2013. In the third chapter a case study will be presented and this will answer the question as to why the Uruguayan Government of José Mujica chose to legalise cannabis, as well as present the results of the policies up until today. It will be argued that questions and concerns about security lay at the heart of the policies and their justification, but that the impact on the security situation in the country will be limited. The thesis will also contend that other objectives of the regulations, primarily aimed at ‘harm reduction’, the reduction of the negative social and health consequences of drug policies, are only limitedly achieved.Show less
Research master thesis | Latin American Studies (research) (MA)
open access
La caída del historico Partido Colorado (PC) uruguayo en las elecciones de 2004 suma este partido a una lista creciente de partidos históricos latinoamericanos que se derrumbaron de una elección a...Show moreLa caída del historico Partido Colorado (PC) uruguayo en las elecciones de 2004 suma este partido a una lista creciente de partidos históricos latinoamericanos que se derrumbaron de una elección a otra. La gran parte de la literatura ha tendido a enfocarse sobre los actores emergentes, los nuevos partidos políticos, dejando inadvertido lo que ocurrió a los partidos longevos. Este trabajo trata de llenar este hueco explicando el caso colorado (1984-2004) a través del concepto de ‘dilución de marca’. Por un lado, se trata del abandono del partido político de sus posiciones políticas históricas. Por otro lado, refiere a la convergencia con otros partidos, frecuentemente acérrimos enemigos históricos, a través del compartir posiciones políticas y del gobierno. Este proceso erosiona la identificación partidaria, lo cual se repercute en contratiempos, provocando una caída brusca y profunda.Show less
In Uruguay is sinds 10 december 2013 de drug Cannabis sativa, onder het bewind van president José Mujica, gelegaliseerd. Volgens de nieuwe wet mogen gebruikers van 18 jaar en ouder daar 40 gram...Show moreIn Uruguay is sinds 10 december 2013 de drug Cannabis sativa, onder het bewind van president José Mujica, gelegaliseerd. Volgens de nieuwe wet mogen gebruikers van 18 jaar en ouder daar 40 gram Cannabis sativa kopen in door de staat aangewezen winkels. Gebruikers mogen thuis tot zes planten telen en verenigingen mogen tot 90 planten per jaar telen en oogsten. Voorstanders van deze nieuwe wetgeving op het gebied van Cannabis Sativa zijn van mening dat de gereguleerde teelt en handel van deze drug zal helpen de georganiseerde misdaad te bestrijden. De Verenigde Naties kijken anders aan tegen de decriminalisering en regulering van Cannabis sativa in Uruguay; door het ondertekenen van de 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs door alle VN‐lidstaten moet deze drug als onomstotelijk illegaal worden beschouwt. De VN heeft niet alleen kritiek op de gezondheidsrisico’s van deze drug, zoals verslaving en geheugenproblemen, maar vooral op de illegaliteit als zodanig. De 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs is door alle VN‐lidstaten getekend en het is daarbij niet toegestaan zomaar unilateraal een drug te legaliseren; dit wordt gezien als een overtreding. De VN dreigt daarbij ook met sancties tegen Uruguay, maar kan deze niet opleggen door legale restricties. UNASUR probeert de VN ook te nuanceren in de vijandelijke houding die de VN aanneemt. Het beeld dat wordt geschetst door UNASUR en de VN van het nationale imago van Uruguay is overwegend negatief. Echter, door het feit dat alle UNASUR landen overwegend positief zijn, vindt dit negatieve beeld vooral plaats buiten de Latijns‐Amerikaanse regio. Het beeld dat door de Argentijnse kranten Clarín, La Nación en Página 12 in de media wordt geschetst van het nationale imago van Uruguay is overwegend positief. Uit deze kranten komt veel positief en neutraal commentaar naar voren. Zo wordt er geschreven dat Argentijnse bedrijven erover denken om Cannabis sativa te gaan produceren voor Uruguay en wordt er gespeculeerd dat Argentinië mogelijk het tweede land kan zijn dat deze drug gaat decriminaliseren. In deze kranten komen veel positieve woorden naar voren, zoals ‘la otra cara de la guerra’, ‘la hora de empezar a escuchar’, ‘otros caminos posibles’. Deze titels suggereren dat Argentinië mogelijk ook aan het kijken is naar alternatieven zoals decriminalisering en dat zij de legalisering van de drug in Uruguay ook zien als een sociaal experiment, zoals UNASUR. De negatieve kritiek kwam uit een andere hoek; de Uruguayaanse krant El País geeft aan dat zowel Argentinië als Brazilië bang zijn voor een spillover van Cannabis sativa over de grenzen.Show less
In December 2013, Uruguay became the first country in the world to fully legalize cannabis, regulating all processes from the possession, growth, and distribution of the plant. As a breakthrough in...Show moreIn December 2013, Uruguay became the first country in the world to fully legalize cannabis, regulating all processes from the possession, growth, and distribution of the plant. As a breakthrough in the international drug control regime, it reflects the rapidly shifting paradigm towards drug policies in Latin America. The international and mostly U.S. led attempt to eliminate the production, transport, sale and consumption of so-classified illicit drugs, or narcotic and psychotropic drugs, has been for several decades an important dynamic in the relations, movements and conflicts across all of the Americas. The social and human costs have been very high and an increasingly larger amount of activists, politicians and researchers have spoken out against this often called ‘war on drugs’ and have sought for alternatives to avoid the costs paid by society. These alternatives mostly focus on cannabis, the most consumed illicit drug worldwide (UNODC: 2014, 41). Accordingly, this paper will mostly limit its scope on the specific role of cannabis. Though the prohibitionist model continues to prevail in the region, an increasing amount of countries have decriminalized cannabis and the reform debates in the region have gradually gained legitimacy and importance in the past few years. Due to the importance and impacts that these transnational trends have in the region, this paper will assess what role the legalization of cannabis in Uruguay has played in the discourse towards drug policies in Latin America. The objective of this study is to analyze the Latin American paradigm shift away from prohibitionism and towards the regulation of cannabis as an alternative to the war on drugs and, in such context, the decreasing hegemony of the U.S. in the region. The case study, more specifically, will look at the transnational effects that Uruguay’s decision has had in the region to reinforce these trends.Show less
En mi tesina analizo el libro 'De terugkeer van Lupe García'escrito por Carolina Trujillo. Esta novela holandesauruguaya reflexiona sobre la imposibilidad del hogar en un contexto de exilio en el...Show moreEn mi tesina analizo el libro 'De terugkeer van Lupe García'escrito por Carolina Trujillo. Esta novela holandesauruguaya reflexiona sobre la imposibilidad del hogar en un contexto de exilio en el que, como vimos, el regreso se refiere más a un pasado que a un lugar, y en el que el trauma de la dictadura y la relación entre víctima y verdugo vuelve una y otra vez. El libro arroja luz sobre cómo la generación posdictatorial hace frente a la herencia de la dictadura.Show less
