Abstract
Autore:
Campanella Raffaele
Titolo:
"L´America latina fra Europa, Stati Uniti e Cina. Quale ruolo per L´italia?"
In this paper, the author examines the international position of Latin America in the 21st century and identifies several fundamental characteristics: the positive economic trend of the Latin American countries from 2003 to 2007; the capacity to react they showed in face of the international financial crisis of 2008; their growing propensity for seeking forms of collaboration with Asia; their abandonment of the “open regionalism” of the Nineties and their search for alternative forms of regional integration; the emergence of Brazil as a world power and its inclusion, alongside Mexico and Argentina, in the G20 bloc.
In front of this survey, the author scrutinizes Latin America’s relations with its two traditional international partners: the United States and the European Union. The author identifies the most significant aspects of US relations with the Latin American countries during the Bill Clinton and George W. Bush administrations and points up the novelties introduced by the Obama administration. Concerning the relations with the EU, the author retraces the itinerary that led from the high expectations for the 1999 Rio de Janeiro EU-LAC summit to the modest results of the 2010 Madrid meeting, and outlines a possible agenda for the next EU-LAC summit to be held in 2012 in Santiago, Chile.
The author speculates on whether this context of ongoing evolution holds a role for Italy – and if so, which role – in the light of Italy’s history of relations with the Latin American area, also considering the experience accrued from 2003 to 2011 through the five Italy-Latin America National Conferences.
