THE LIMITS OF REGIONAL AUTONOMY: BRAZIL AND THE MULTISCALAR POLITICS OF EMERGING POWERS

Abstract

The appeal of regionalization can best be understood as much a reaction to marginalization within the institutions of global governance as a gravitation toward the benefits of proximity-enabled cooperation with neighbouring states. Building on insights from Hirschman’s concept of institutional exit and Buzan’s regional security complex theory, this article conceptualizes regionalization as a process driven by both centrifugal and centripetal dynamics. Accordingly, global institutions privilege the interests and norms of the established core, thereby constituting the primary push factor in this process. By contrast, regional platforms exert pull effects by offering greater policy autonomy, normative convergence, and issue proximity among economies sharing similar structural attributes. The article treats Brazil’s regional strategy from the early 2000s through the mid-2010s as an instance of this global transformation. During this period, MERCOSUR and UNASUR functioned as the primary vehicles for fostering a post-neoliberal alliance among South American nations centred on collective industrialization and autonomy. This endeavour, however, failed to deliver the desired outcomes and ultimately lost economic viability. The superior returns offered by China’s ever-growing demand for Brazil’s agribusiness redirected Brazil’s priorities beyond its immediate region, revealing the structural limitations inherent in South–South partnerships.