New Regionalism and Modes of Governance — Comparing US and EU Strategies in Latin America

This article explores the extent to which it makes sense to see EU policies towards the developing world as distinctive. It does so through a comparative analysis of EU and US policies for the governance of Latin America, paying particular attention to Mercosur. The conceptual framework is drawn from theories of new regionalism. Despite some similarities in so far as issues of economic governance are concerned, I argue that there are important differences between the EU and the US models of new regionalism, especially in terms of the discursive importance attributed to notions of ‘partnership’, support for subregional integration, and political and social inclusion. I suggest that the EU is using new regionalism as a way to lay down an identity marker of what it perceives as a more humane governance model for Latin America than that of the USA.