Latin American Thinking in International Relations Reloaded

Abstract

In the midst of uncertainty –generated by the narratives of the decline of the United States– academics are looking for answers and cerebral stimulus in the heart of the academic Terra Incognita that is the “Global South”. Building on this interpretation, I formulate a simple question: Does a Latin American school of thought exist in International Relations? In order to respond to this question I will propose a model that will allow for an assessment of the existence of a Latin American school of thought in International Relations. Additionally, this model will enable me to distance myself from the air du temps; that is, to celebrate the existence of a school of thought before even being certain that it actually exists. For sure, the assessment done here will only stand as a first attempt, and is in no way exhaustive. Nonetheless, it will allow me, firstly, to demonstrate that the eagerness to promote any kind of academic proposal to the status of “school” is detrimental to the central goal of generating knowledge and, second, to stimulate others to think about the subject along the same lines.

Keywords

• Latin american thinking in international relations
• research enterprise
• knowledge aggregation
• global south
• autonomy