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This book provides an alternative approach to regionalism in neglected parts of the world. Taking stock of several decades of conceptualization, the author provides a political sociology approach of regionalisms fed by recent contributions from the sociology of international relations and public policy analysis. It uses a methodological rather than theoretical framework to bring a new perspective on an emerging field of comparative regionalism. The relational dimensions, the social contexts and characteristics of actors and their practices are key to shed a new light on what is considered in this book as a 'social international phenomenon'. Kevin Parthenay is Lecturer in Political Science at Sciences Po, France. Attached to the Centre for International Research and Studies (CERI) and to the Political Observatory for Latin American and the Caribbean (OPALC), his research focuses on comparative regionalism, Central American democracies and foreign policies.

Abstract
How is staff recruitment in regional organizations institutionalized? This article focuses on explaining the determinants of staff recruitment institutionalization in regional organizations (ROs). It is important to understand how ROs recruit their regional staff, as ROs have become players with an increasing influence in global governance, and as regional (and international) bureaucracies constantly contribute to the reshaping of power relations with member states. The institutionalization of staff recruitment offers an insightful and innovative way of unpacking the way ROs operate and exert agency. In this perspective, the article examines an RO from the Global South, the Central American Integration System (SICA), and argues that member states institutionalize staff recruitment for fear of losing control to a powerful combination of regional bureaucracy and international donors. This single-case study will be comparable with many Global South ROs that share similar characteristics, and will provide generalizable results in the realm of RO studies. This article sheds light on a very poorly known case among ROs and helps to extend the empirical scope of International Public Administration (IPA) studies beyond the "Global North," and consolidate the field of comparative regionalism. To develop the argument, the article uses empirical material from several pieces of in-depth fieldwork conducted within SICA since 2009. It analyses official legal documents and internal documents relating to staff regulation, and uses semi-structured interviews focused on practices of recruitment standards. Keywords: Staff recruitment, Regional organizations, Institutionalization, Regional bureaucratic autonomy, External interventions

Abstract
The article addresses the diversity of digital diplomatic strategies used by governmental actors to fight international stigmatization. Faced with structural limitations, the leaders of small states use it to defend their political project's image or reputation when they come under international criticism for deviating from or transgressing international norms. Borrowing from Erving Goffman, I draw on the idea that social networks can be conceptualized as orders of interaction, in which digital diplomatic strategies can be put in place and international politicization and normative debates can develop. An examination of Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele's Twitter posts from January 2019 to May 2022, during a period of increasing international criticism regarding the authoritarian–populist drift in El Salvador, improves our knowledge of the diversity of digital diplomatic strategies. Consequently, this enlightens us on the constitutive elements of how small states manage their relationship with external actors, their image and status, and eventually how they challenge the international order, international norms and powers.

Après des décennies de mise à la périphérie des relations internationales et d'éloignement des centres de pouvoir mondiaux, les États de l'Amérique latine et de la Caraïbe voient aujourd'hui leur position évoluer. Mais, entre Atlantique et Pacifique, l'espace latino-américain et caribéen constitue-t-il pour autant un espace stratégique à part entière ? La révision de la place du continent semble liée à l'évolution de plusieurs facteurs tant commerciaux que territoriaux et politico-diplomatiques .

La crisis sanitaria mundial relacionada con la Covid-19 (sars-Cov-2) ha generado tensión en el conjunto de los sistemas políticos del planeta, desestabilizó los sistemas económicos y sociales y supuso un desafío para las organizaciones internacionales y regionales. A pesar de que en América Central los Estados miembros del Sistema de Integración Centroamericano (Sica) y, en el Caribe, los Estados miembros de la Caricom se caracterizan por su fragilidad, las dos regiones presentan un desempeño sorprendente en lo relativo a la gestión de la crisis sanitaria. Ponemos a prueba hipótesis relativas al aprendizaje institucional, a la ayuda exterior y a la distribución espacial, para explicar esta contradicción aparente de la resistencia ante la crisis sanitaria, a pesar de la debilidad de las estructuras regionales del Estado.

Les questions de recherche sur les régionalismes portent principalement sur leur diversité et sur leur nature (postlibérale, post-hégémonique). Pour aller au-delà de ces questionnements, il est nécessaire de travailler sur les organisations régionales qui prolifèrent depuis les années 1990, en Amérique latine comme dans le reste du monde, et occupent une place de plus en plus importante dans la politique internationale. Une approche centrée sur les acteurs permet d'observer la configuration du pouvoir dans les régionalismes latino-américains et plus précisément le positionnement des Secrétaires généraux, à la lumière de deux variables de l'autonomie de volonté et d'action : l'ambigüité institutionnelle et les dispositions individuelles. Dans cet article, nous travaillons en particulier sur le Marché commun sud-américain (Mercosur), l'Union des nations du Sud (Unasur) et le Système d'intégration centraméricain (Sica).

L'Union européenne (UE) est traditionnellement présentée comme un exportateur de normes, faisant la promotion de son modèle d'intégration régionale et le diffusant au-delà de ses frontières. L'Amérique centrale offre un cas emblématique d'une partie du monde avec laquelle l'UE a historiquement développé des relations étroites et une coopération forte. Dans cet article, nous remettons en question l'idée que l'UE a exporté son modèle en Amérique centrale à partir d'un examen détaillé du type de normes diffusées. Cette remise en question ouvre par ailleurs un questionnement central qui est celui de savoir ce que l'UE a véritablement diffusé et quels ont été les effets de cette diffusion. Cet article contribue également à revisiter l'un des traits caractéristiques de cet acteur global qu'est l'UE à travers une approche de sociologie politique de l'interrégionalisme analysant l'action extérieure européenne vis-à-vis de l'Amérique centrale, et plus spécifiquement, du Système d'Intégration Centraméricain (SICA)

This article evaluates the performance of the Central American Presidential Summit, based on a political sociology approach of regionalism, and the concepts of political authority and rules compliance. The trajectory of the Presidential Summits since 1986, is examined through a theoretical approximation inspired by international relations sociologists and by applying an inductive methodology. The results indicate that almost since its creation, the Central American Presidential Summit did not achieve full operability according to its institutional design and diplomatic practices. The evidence suggests that presidential summits do not act as the driver of Central American regionalism. The article affirms that the weak political will from the member states explains the limited institutional performance of the Central American Integration System.