The study addresses the question of whether or not the EU's foreign policy towards Latin American Southern Cone States (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, which created, in 1991, the Southern Cone Common Market MERCOSUR) has become more cooperative since the mid-to-end 1980s, and why a change, if any, has occurred. It explores recurrent explanatory factors pointed out in the literature (EU's intention to balance the US hegemony, accession of Portugal and Spain to the EU, and the processes of democratization, economic liberalization, and regional integration taking place in the Southern Cone States) in two case studies, foreign direct investment and agricultural trade. The conceptual framework includes hypotheses derived from three theoretical approaches in the discipline of International Relations: Neorealism, Utilitarian Liberalism, and Identity-Constructivism.

Autorentext

The Author: Andrea Ribeiro Hoffmann holds a Diploma in World Politics from the London School of Economics, an M.A. in International Relations from the Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro and a Ph.D. in Political Sciences / International Relations from the University of Tübingen. She was a visiting researcher at the European University Institute, Florence in 2002 and is currently researcher and Assistant Professor at the Institute of International Relations, Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro.

Inhalt

Contents : EU Foreign Policy - International Cooperation - Mercosur - Foreign Direct Investment - Agricultural Trade.