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Regional integration in Latin America has experienced different periods of politicization. The most recent goes back to the 2000s and is related to the domestic political changes resulting from the so-called 'left turn' which sought alternative economic and development policies to neoliberalism as the state regained centrality. These transformations led to a broad process of politicization of regionalism which changed the terms of the debate surrounding whether regional integration and free trade are the only way for these countries to integrate regionally and internationally. Analyses have thus underscored the postliberal character of this phase of regionalism as reflected in the greater weight of social and political agendas at the expense of economic and trade issues. The Common Market of the South (MERCOSUR) was no exception to this trend. However, in 2010 the bloc rather surprisingly agreed to relaunch negotiations with the European Union (EU). Why did MERCOSUR decide to resume these negotiations—stalled since 2004—in a context of high politicization of regional integration? This article argues that internal politicization did not lead to a paralysis of the international agenda. Moreover, internal politicization, coupled with external pressures and the demand for group-to-group negotiations by the EU, drove and supported the conduct of international negotiations. In so doing, this article also contests the idea that after the 2000s, MERCOSUR moved inexorably towards a postliberal model, thus rejecting any trade component. Findings suggest that these accounts may have overemphasized change and underestimated continuities in regional integration dynamics as the case of the external agenda shows.

Regional integration in Latin America has experienced different periods of politicization. The most recent goes back to the 2000s and is related to the domestic political changes resulting from the so-called 'left turn' which sought alternative economic and development policies to neoliberalism as the state regained centrality. These transformations led to a broad process of politicization of regionalism which changed the terms of the debate surrounding whether regional integration and free trade are the only way for these countries to integrate regionally and internationally. Analyses have thus underscored the postliberal character of this phase of regionalism as reflected in the greater weight of social and political agendas at the expense of economic and trade issues. The Common Market of the South (MERCOSUR) was no exception to this trend. However, in 2010 the bloc rather surprisingly agreed to relaunch negotiations with the European Union (EU). Why did MERCOSUR decide to resume these negotiations—stalled since 2004—in a context of high politicization of regional integration? This article argues that internal politicization did not lead to a paralysis of the international agenda. Moreover, internal politicization, coupled with external pressures and the demand for group-to-group negotiations by the EU, drove and supported the conduct of international negotiations. In so doing, this article also contests the idea that after the 2000s, MERCOSUR moved inexorably towards a postliberal model, thus rejecting any trade component. Findings suggest that these accounts may have overemphasized change and underestimated continuities in regional integration dynamics as the case of the external agenda shows.

AbstractThis article discusses a unique organization in the regulatory world, theBrazilianAssociation ofRegulatoryAgencies (ABAR), which brings together federal, state, and municipal regulatory agencies across different policy sectors. The paper argues that as a regulatory policy network,ABARhas been crucial to the professional socialization, capacity building, and institutionalization of regulators inBrazil. Moreover, it has promoted their identity as professionals and differentiated them from politicians, regulatees, and societal actors. Thus, whileABARraises the shield of expertise to secure independence from political and social interference, it has itself become a relevant actor in the country's regulatory political dynamics, contributing as such to the strengthening of theBrazilian regulatory state.

1\. Introduction 5 2\. The New Trade Agenda: From the GATT to the WTO and Beyond 6 2.1 From Negative to Positive Integration at the Multilateral Level 6 2.2 Positive Integration at the Interregional Level 7 3\. Interregional Trade Negotiations and Regulatory Governance Regimes 8 3.1 The Negotiation of Regulatory Commitments Across Agendas 9 3.2 Regulatory Governance Regimes: The Institutional Setting and Strategic Constellations 11 4\. EU and Mercosur Interregional Negotiations: A Cross-Policy Analysis of Regulatory Governance Regimes 13 4.1 The Trade and Cooperative Agendas: Norms and Capacity Building Mechanisms 15 4.1.1 Trade Facilitation 15 4.1.2 Education 17 4.2 The Strategic Constellations: The Actors, Their Roles and Their Networks 19 4.2.1 Trade Facilitation 19 4.2.2 Education 21 5\. Varying Patterns of Regional Governance 24 6\. Some Final Remarks 27 References 29 ; This paper focuses on the significance of regulatory governance at the regional level. In doing so, it analyzes to what extent and how North-South negotiations give rise to particular forms of regulatory governance in the developing world. To what extent do these forms vary across policy areas? Which elements account for the observed differences and similarities? Empirically, the paper explores the negotiation process between the European Union (EU) and the Southern Common Market (Mercosur), which aims to promote trade liberalization on the one hand, and the harmonization of regulatory frameworks on the other. The focus is on the trade and cooperative agendas involved in trade facilitation and education. Findings suggest that the negotiation of North-South agreements impacts on the ways in which different forms of regulatory governance are expressed, but this varies among particular policy issues. Both the type of norm promoted and the capacity building mechanisms envisaged create a particular ideational and material context, all of which in turn affects the actor constellation – type of actor, specific role and network configuration – hence ...

The trade agenda has undergone significant transformations during the last 25 years. Negotiations have moved from the reciprocal reduction of tariff barriers to include the construction and harmonization of regulatory frameworks in different policy areas, while trade liberalization has simultaneously advanced at the regional and multilateral levels. This research explores under what conditions the launch of trade negotiations - symmetric (South- outh), asymmetric (North-South), and multilateral - have a differential impact on domestic governance. Based on a systematic and contextualized comparative analysis of the complex constellation of domestic actors and interests, and the relationships and interactions established among them in a particular institutional setting, our study argues that these different trade agendas generate diverse policy dynamics. Findings show that the variation in the scope of the agenda, the uncertainty of political outcomes, and the technical requirements attached to these negotiations have important consequences for the ways in which domestic state and non-state actors define their interests and collective action strategies. ; La agenda comercial ha sufrido importantes modificaciones durante los últimos 25 años. Las negociaciones han pasado de la reducción recíproca de tarifas a la construcción y armonización regulatoria en distintas áreas de política, mientras que la liberalización comercial ha avanzado simultáneamente a nivel regional y multilateral. Esta investigación explora bajo qué condiciones el lanzamiento de negociaciones comerciales - imétricas (Sur-Sur), asimétricas (Norte-Sur) y multilaterales - tiene un impacto diferente sobre la gobernanza doméstica. A través de la comparación sistemática y contextualizada de la compleja constelación de actores e intereses domésticos, y de las relaciones e interacciones establecidas entre ellos en un determinado escenario institucional, nuestro estudio plantea que estas distintas agendas generan diferentes dinámicas políticas. Los ...

This paper examines the impact of interregionalism on regulatory governance. Specifically, it analyses an underexplored aspect of the negotiation process for an interregional agreement between the European Union (EU) and the Common Market of the South (Mercosur): to what extent and how has this given rise to particular forms of regulatory governance in Mercosur? The paper empirically explores the trade and cooperation agendas involved in trade facilitation and education, and argues that the long negotiation process between the EU and Mercosur has affected the ways in which different forms of regulatory governance are expressed. Still, these show variation across policy issues. Both the type of norm promoted and the capacity-building mechanisms envisaged create a particular ideational and material context, all of which affects the actor constellation and leads in turn to different regulatory governance regimes, yet within the same interregional negotiation process.

Regional integration in Latin America has experienced different periods of politicization. The most recent goes back to the 2000s and is related to the domestic political changes resulting from the so-called 'left turn' which sought alternative economic and development policies to neoliberalism as the state regained centrality. These transformations led to a broad process of politicization of regionalism which changed the terms of the debate surrounding whether regional integration and free trade are the only way for these countries to integrate regionally and internationally. Analyses have thus underscored the postliberal character of this phase of regionalism as reflected in the greater weight of social and political agendas at the expense of economic and trade issues. The Common Market of the South (MERCOSUR) was no exception to this trend. However, in 2010 the bloc rather surprisingly agreed to relaunch negotiations with the European Union (EU). Why did MERCOSUR decide to resume these negotiations—stalled since 2004—in a context of high politicization of regional integration? This article argues that internal politicization did not lead to a paralysis of the international agenda. Moreover, internal politicization, coupled with external pressures and the demand for group-to-group negotiations by the EU, drove and supported the conduct of international negotiations. In so doing, this article also contests the idea that after the 2000s, MERCOSUR moved inexorably towards a postliberal model, thus rejecting any trade component. Findings suggest that these accounts may have overemphasized change and underestimated continuities in regional integration dynamics as the case of the external agenda shows.

Regional cooperation has been an enduring feature of Latin American politics for more than half a century. With the turn of the century, regional organizations moved beyond traditional free trade issues to embrace cooperation in broader social policy areas. A recent literature relates this change to the left turn in the region, especially in South America. Yet, in practice, relevant differences persist in terms of how social policy is regulated at the regional level. This article looks precisely into this variation. In essence, it studies regulatory cooperation in the Common Market of the South (MERCOSUR) and thus offers a comparative assessment of the institutions and policy instruments devised in two social areas: education and health. Using an original dataset on the documents passed by MERCOSUR between 1991 and 2016, the findings provide evidence that the definition of the policy problem matters as this affects the institutional mechanisms and the policy instruments and strategies devised to address them. In this context, different policy problem definitions seem to account for two distinct emerging patterns of social regulatory cooperation in the Southern Cone. ; This research is funded through the project 'Regional Social Regulation in Latin America: A New Agenda for Development? Prospects and Challenges (SociAL-Reg)' (CSO2015-66411 -P) funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry, and Competitiveness.