Thirty Years of the South American International Organization of the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR)

Dujić, Ivan (2022) Thirty Years of the South American International Organization of the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR). In: International Organizations: Serbia and Contemporary World. Institute of International Politics and Economics; Faculty of Philosophy of the University of St. Cyril and Methodius, Belgrade; Skopje, pp. 280-293. ISBN 978-86-7067-306-9

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Abstract

In the course of the prolonged economic and political crises fuelled by the COVID-19 global pandemic, cooperation among countries in different areas is perceived as a discouraging or re-encouraging factor necessary for handling the crises. Since the 2008 global financial crisis, Latin American countries have been faced with many sensitive issues. One of them relates to furthering long-term cooperation in economic and political matters as a prerequisite to avoiding the possibility of inter-state conflicts. This paper aims to evaluate the nature and validity of multi-level cooperation among the member states of the international intergovernmental organization officially known as the Southern Common Market (in Spanish – Mercado Comun del Sur – MERCOSUR), in conditions that are not at all easy to overcome the current crisis. The paper emphasizes the necessity of the MERCOSUR action to stop any turmoil and violence within the states, especially in countries with weak democracies. Relying on the fact that in the last thirty years there has been a change in the political climate in the member states of the MERCOSUR, the paper examines the causes of the decline in mutual cooperation. The author came to the conclusion that the current relationship between these member states should be redefined in the spirit of non-ideological belief. To provide an argument in favor of redefining relations within the MERCOSUR, the author pointed to the example of divergent Brazilian policies towards Argentina after 2018, which threatened the survival of the MERCOSUR, especially with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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