Mercorsur: the regional state of South America

Robert N. St Clair, Ana C Thome Williams

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

In the economic arena of globalization, scholars often speak of countries that have joined together economically to form economic alliances. These usually include NAFTA and the EU, but almost never MERCOSUR. This is unfortunate as MERCOSUR is developing into a major economic bloc. Its impact on the global economy is no longer limited to South America. Just how MERCOSUR differs, for example, from NAFTA and from the EU is the focus of this essay. Some of the problems that remain among the members of this regional state are discussed. However, it is argued that the significance of MERCOSUR as a global network is that it has moved well beyond being a regional state. It has created alliances with Africa, the EU, and China. It has resisted the attempts by the FTAA to create an economic bloc that would unite the Americas from Canada to Chile. MERCOSUR is well on its way to becoming a network society, but it is a society that aligns itself with those that have been disenfranchised by the WTO, the World Bank, and the IMF.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)56-64
JournalJournal of Intercultural Communication Studies
VolumeXVI
StatePublished - 2007

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