From the National to the Transnational. Resistances to Statehood in Africa and Latin America

Abstract

This article displays two cases of resistance that question the predominant role of the State as the locus in which diverse social imaginaries are constructed. On the one hand, it deals with the case of Cabinda’s Angolan enclave, where the border acts more as a channel than as a barrier, causing the transnational focus gains weight in front of the state. On the other hand, it deals with the emergency of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States as a political forum for symbolic legitimation of the ‘Latin American family’. Departing from the similarities and differences that arise in these two circumstances, it is possible to analyze actions that diverge from the dominant International Relations explanation, which presents a dichotomy between the inside and the outside of borders, and in which the State is cast as the primary actor.

Keywords

• border
• resistances
• social imaginaries
• national
• transnational
• africa
• latin america
• cabinda
• community of latin american and caribbean states