Interregionalism, as we conceive it today, did not find fertile ground until the second half of the 20th century. The regions of the South—Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America—had been subjected to relations of dominance—of a colonial nature or within areas of influence—a reality which established a “hub and spokes” logic. The independence of Latin American countries during the 19th century did not translate itself automatically into diversified relations with other regions of the world. In other parts of the South, decolonization initiated a process that would foster interregionalism, allowing for mutually beneficial relations. The Bandung Conference (1955) was a milestone in the history of South-South relations, with the creation of the Non-Aligned Movement. Later the G77 represented a new breakthrough for coordination on economic and social issues at the United Nations.
The end of the Cold War and its ideological alignments improved conditions for direct relations among regions. Economic regionalism gained momentum, consolidating regional identities and favoring trade. The creation of the Common Market of the South (MERCOSUR) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) coincided with the end of the Cold War. By the end of the 1990s, MERCOSUR and the European Union had started negotiations with a view to signing a free trade agreement, which is now expected to be completed shortly. This marked the beginning of Latin America’s engagement with modern forms of interregionalism as analyzed in the academic literature.
The 21st century has been particularly conducive to the strengthening of interregional relations. From the Brazilian perspective, the creation of the South American Community of Nations (2004), which gave way to UNASUR in 2008, contributed to this trend, reinforcing a South American identity that until then had played a secondary role within the Americas. The South America–Arab Countries (ASPA) and South America–Africa (ASA) summits, inaugurated in Brasilia in May 2005 and in Abuja in November 2006 respectively, are examples of an innovative interregionalism. At the same time, the Group of Rio would evolve into the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac) in 2010. Today, the dialogue between Celac and the UE brings together nations representing over a billion people, on both sides of the Atlantic.
From a Latin American and a Brazilian perspective, other initiatives deserve to be highlighted. The Zone of Peace and Cooperation of the South Atlantic (ZPCSA, 1986) brings together 24 countries of Western Africa and South America. As the main security forum in the South Atlantic, coordination within ZPCSA has contributed to the promotion of an area free of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction. Mechanisms such as IBSA (2003) and BRIC (2009, later BRICS) illustrate the same trend. Developing countries such as Brazil, India, and South Africa, among others, have become active participants in G20 summits in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. Relations between developing states individually and regional groups also developed. In 2011, I signed, as Minister of Foreign Affairs, a Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation between Brazil and ASEAN. With the EU, Brazil established a Strategic Partnership in 2007.
This book is a timely and valuable contribution to both academic and policy discussions on interregionalism. Two features of the book stand out in my view. First in its genre, it focuses on the Americas, and highlights the composite nature of this continent, where different regions (the Americas as such, South America, Latin America, and subregions within it) and key states (namely Brazil and the United States, but not exclusively) engage with other regions of the world at different levels. This analysis expresses the complexity of both the phenomenon of interregionalism and the region of the Americas and its subparts as active actors in international relations. Secondly, the conceptual framework aptly captures the summitry exercise as a key policy element of interregionalism. In my capacity as a policy-maker and a diplomat, I have hands-on experience of how political direction and determination are indispensable factors to allow interregional relations at different levels, including civil society exchanges, to develop and flourish.
Interregionalism can play a key role in enhancing international cooperation. However, one should not consider it as an alternative to multilateralism. We should guard against forms of interregionalism that feed rivalry or exacerbate tensions between different cultural or religious traditions. The interregionalism that deserves to be embraced is one that is placed at the service of universal objectives such as durable peace and sustainable development. Universal multilateralism, in this context, retains its full relevance as the best means at our disposal to build platforms for cooperation to overcome contemporary global challenges.
—Antonio Patriota1
Largely unnoticed by pundits and politicians, the four Atlantic continents of North and South America, Africa and Europe are engaging and interacting in a whole host of ways that are shifting the contours of interregional interdependence and global power. With little fanfare, the Atlantic Basin is becoming a central arena of interregionalism and a microcosm of key global trends, including the diffusion of power, deepening interconnections, and spreading transnational risks. The Americas are at the core of these processes and a bridge between the Atlantic and the Pacific spaces. This volume is a timely contribution to unpack and understand these dynamics.
The Atlantic Basin is rapidly becoming the world’s energy reservoir. It is the world’s most heavily traveled ocean, hosts the most global commerce, and has become the inland sea to the vast majority of the world’s democratic countries. It is the warmest and most saline of the major oceans, hosts the world’s richest fishing resources, and offers the most immediate opportunities for “blue growth” strategies to harvest its riches. Yet it is a region of extreme wealth and poverty. The Atlantic continents are on the frontlines of global climate change, greater superstorms, and rising sea levels. Together we are threatened by a growing pan-Atlantic nexus of drugs, guns, and terror.
The well-being of people across the four continents of the Atlantic Basin is increasingly influenced by interrelated flows of people and energy, money and weapons, goods and services, technology and terror, drugs and crime. Atlantic continents are benefiting from greater access to each other’s markets, resources, and talent. But as growing Atlantic interdependencies spawn new opportunities, they are also generating new vulnerabilities along the interrelated arteries and nodes upon which our societies depend, requiring mutual efforts to promote human security by enhancing the resilience of these networks and the critical functions of societies across the Atlantic space.
Of the world’s three grand oceans, the Atlantic is the most pacific. The Pacific and Indian Oceans are tempestuous, full of rivalry and tension; the Atlantic lake, in contrast, could be a uniting force around which continents may test new modes of networked cooperation attuned to modern challenges. Yet despite growing ties in energy, commerce, human security, norms and values, as well as issues related to the Atlantic Ocean itself, interregional governance mechanisms, and diplomatic cooperation with a pan-Atlantic frame of mind are in their infancy. A variety of cooperative mechanisms and public-private networks are slowly beginning to redraw the political map of the Atlantic. Yet on the whole there is a growing need for new approaches to interregional governance across what may fairly be called the new Atlantic Hemisphere.
This book, born out of the Atlantic Future project (www.atlanticfuture.eu) develops some of these key issues with a specific Americas focus but also with a broader interregionalist perspective. The volume goes beyond the Atlantic space but offers a valuable contribution to the study of the Atlantic Basin and its interregional dynamics too. I would like to congratulate the editors and authors of this book, which is an admirable effort to explore the uneven nature of interregionalism as it affects North and South America, both in their own relations and with other regions.
—Daniel S. Hamilton2
NOTES
1. Antonio de Aguiar Patriota was Ambassador of Brazil to the United States (2007–2009), Secretary General of Foreign Affairs of Brazil (2009–2010), Minister of Foreign Relations of Brazil (2011–2013), and Ambassador of Brazil to the United Nations in New York (2013–2016). He is currently Ambassador of Brazil to Italy.
2. Daniel S. Hamilton is currently Austrian Marshall Plan Foundation Professor at the School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University. He has held a variety of senior positions in the US Department of State, including Deputy Assistant Secretary for European Affairs and Director for Policy in the Bureau of European Affairs.