The construction of South American cooperation in security and defense: the South American Defense Council

Abstract

Abstract: Inserted in the discussion of regional security, the main objective of this article is analyze to analyze the construction of a security and defense component in South America, by verifying whether the South American Defense Council can be understood as part of the design process of a South American identity, and how its agenda and structure fit or not in the region needs. Regional cooperation, as a process that tends to bring States closer by means of convergence of interests, encompasses a wide variety of themes, among which are security and defense. In this sense, it represents the first security and defense cooperation initiative among all South American countries. For this reason, the analysis is located at the intersection of the regional and domestic levels, not excluding the interaction with the international level, whose understanding is necessary to think about regional dynamics. The theoretical breadth of the Regional Security Complexes is used as a lens for reflection, since, according to this proposition, the security problems faced by States in a given region cannot be thought of separately, which opens space for the possibility of thinking these issues jointly, via institutions.

Keywords

• ssegurança regional
• américa do sul
• complexos regionais de segurança