ASEAN & MERCOSUR

Abstract

Since the end of the Cold War, the world has gone into an irreversible path of building bridges and improving communication between peoples at all regions around the globe. Despite of numerous conflicts, struggle for power, and sociopolitical challenges in the globe today, relative reconciliation and economic cooperation has dominated the relationships among either developed or underdeveloped nations. A shift from confrontation and wars towards a more globalized and interdependent political-economic system has influenced world leaders’ decisions in an unprecedented speed.

The decrease in interstate wars has given governments the opportunity to engage in dialogue and cooperation. The isolated promotion of ideologies of supremacy in one side and communism in the other has been substituted by discussions on how to achieve development, and division in economic blocs has been bridged by agreements and exchanges. Even the most secluded nations started to join hands in an unstoppable trend of opening doors to their neighbors. They have understood the value of international cooperation and the need to participate in the global trend of trade and engagement.

This study highlights the historical changes in regional integration before and after the Cold War era by focusing in two specific arrangements: the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR) and the increased cooperation and interdependence among their member states. Considerable challenges in the initial stages of the establishment of these regional associations will be analyzed by considering distinct internal and external environments of each region. The nature of the topic dictates the use of both a chronological and a comparative analysis of the status of regional integration in Southeast Asia and in South America at various points during their inaugural years. Indeed, there has been a common synergy effect between these trends and globalization. Therefore, a secondary element of this research is the investigation over the main driving forces that guided the countries in those regions to join hands under the same umbrella.

By looking at major theories of regional integration, ASEAN and MERCOSUR will be investigated in what concerns their motivations and challenges during their initial phases. Similarities and differences will be discussed as well as the institutionalization process of those arrangements. Both cases in question here provide evidence that close economic relation is an essential component of either competition or integration, but, furthermore, the domestic and external environments dictate the dimension and peculiarities of each regional integration process.