Uppsatsen har till syfte att undersöka huruvida MERCOSUR är en aktör på den internationella arenan och om dess tilltagande utveckling kommer kunna bidra till ett ökat interregionalt samarbete. Uppsatsen ska uppnå syftet genom att svara på två frågeställningar: 1) Kan MERCOSUR definieras som en aktör på den internationella arenan? 2) Kan MERCOSUR ses som ett nytt regionalt block och därmed ingå i interregionala samarbeten? Uppsatsen går igenom nya regionala blockens uppkomst och vad som skiljer dem åt från andra frihandels avtal. Uppsatsen är en komparativ analys som använder sig av två modeller för att svara på frågeställningarna. Den ena är Björn Hettnes dynamiska modell som beskriver en förändringsprocess. Den andra modellen består av fem kriterier, vilka definierats av Bretherton och Vogler och definierar ett aktörsbeteende. Denna typ av modell är, till skillnad från Hettnes, en statisk modell som används för att definiera grundläggande egenskaper. I samband med Bretherton och Voglers kriterier undersöks fundamentala begrepp, så som actorness och regioness, för att på underlätta analysen om huruvida MERCOSUR agerar som en aktör. För att kunna förstå uppkomsten och utvecklingen av regionala block undersöks hur EU skapades och uppkomsten av Europeiska värderingar samt en introduktion till regionala sammanslutningar i Latinamerika. EU är det äldsta regionala blocket vars gemensamma politik innefattar både ekonomiska och politiska mål. EU stödjer hela den regionala utvecklingen i Latin Amerika och dess interregionala politik bygger på dialog och samförstånd vilket gynnar sammanslutningarna i kontinenten. Speciellt har utvecklingen i MERCOSUR varit av intresse. MERCOSUR har blivit sedd som ett alternativ till det USA drivna projektet FTAA.

This essay is about the European union freetrade treaty negations with Mercosur. I have in this essay used a qualitative content analysis, to study from the EU perspective the reasons to why, the EU and Mercosur suspended the free trade treaty negations 2004, and after several years resumed the negotiations again in 2010. The purpose of this study is to gain a deeper understanding from the EU perspective of why free trade negotiations were suspended and then resumed. In order to achieve a deeper understanding of this event, I have applied neorealism and neoliberalism on the explicit statements and the implied actions, as these theories may provide different explanatory power of implied causes of negotiations. I have come to the conclusion that the theoretical perspectives can indeed explain explicit statements and implicit actions for suspended and resumed negotiations with Mercosur. The implicit reasons for suspended negotiations are among others that the EU has an egoist thinking concerning a free trade treaty. The EU wish to gain more benefits then Mecosur with a free trade treaty, which lead to Mercosur wanted to suspend the negotiations. Another implicit reason is that the EU was thinking entirely on how much that were going to gain in relation mercosur, because of this kind of thinking, the EU probably realized that they were going to loose on a treaty. The implicit reasons for resumed negotiations are among others are that the EU genuinely wants to collaborate with Mercosur as much as they can with the purpose to gain together as much as possible. Other implicit reason is mutual dependence, which means that the EU needs Mercosur and vice versa to strengthen the global economy, and to give job opportunities and growth on both sides. Another implicit reason to resume the negotiations again is that the EU has grown stronger as an economic block, because of this, the EU has greater advantage of their demands with Mercosur. Further more, this essay surely point out that the EU has a lot of difficulties to come up with an agreement with Mercosur. But hopefully the EU can in the nearest future reach a free trade treaty with Mercosur.

<p>Mercosur, som i dag består av Argentina, Brasilien, Paraguay, Uruguay och Venezuela, bildades 1994 i ett försök att förstärka det ekonomiska samarbetet och befästa den omogna demokratin i regionen. Regionalt samarbete inleddes även i avsikt att öka stabilitet och säkerhet i regionen då samarbetet föddes ur askan av en instabil och nedbruten ekonomi. Den dramatiska förändringen från ett inåtvänt militärt styre under större delen av 1900-talet till en liberalisering av både den ekonomiska och politiska sfären, var en annan anledning till regionalt samarbete. Den här uppsatsen behandlar sambandet mellan dessa två fenomen; regional integration och demokrati, och deras parallella utveckling. Den regionala integrationen i området kring Mercosur är annorlunda än andra integrationsprojekt genomförda i världen. Detta är till stor del på grund av den starka statliga interventionalism och presidentialism som historiskt haft en framträdande roll, tillsammans med avsaknad av insyn och brist på civil delaktighet i den politiska sfären. Dessa karakteristiska drag gör det svårt att applicera redan framtagna teorier på Mercosur då dessa främst är utarbetade med hänsyn till Europeiska Unionen. Utvecklingen mot demokrati är betraktad som nödvändighet i förändringsprocessen mot ett förbättrat regionalt samarbete och därmed också regional integration, trots att demokratin fortfarande är begränsad.</p> / <p>Mercosur, which today includes the member states Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay and Venezula, was created in 1994 in an attempt to enhance economic cooperation and consolidate democracy in the region. Regional cooperation was also initiated in order to increase stability and security in the region. This since the integration project surged out of the ashes of an unstable, broken economy and a recent shift from an introvert military regime towards a liberalisation of both the economical and the political sphere. This thesis treats the connection between these two phenomena; regional integration and democracy, and their parallel development. The regional integration through Mercosur is different to other integration projects. Among other things this is due to the strong history of state intervention and scarce civil participation, as well as a prominent presidentialism and a current lack of transparency. This makes the implementation of already existing theories that may explain the development of Mercosur hard to apply, since these theories are developed with consideration to the European Union. The development towards democracy is seen as an essential cornerstone in the shift towards a more cooperative stance between the regional neighbours. Even though democracy in the region still is of limited nature, its emergence promoted regional integration.</p>

Brazil is currently immersed in the project of building a new common market, known as MERCOSUR, with its neighbors Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. It has largely been assumed that this project will produce economic growth and therefore be beneficial for the environment. However, this assumption has recently come into question, as a result of Brazilian and Argentinean efforts to regulate the environmental and health risks associated with retreaded tire imports. Despite the protests of environmentalists, MERCOSUR and WTO tribunals have now issued three separate decisions finding that these measures violate international trade rules. This dissertation examines whether these decisions were correctly decided in light of the relevant scholarly literature on the relationship between trade liberalization and environmental protection, and on regulatory competition theory. I argue that the test applied by WTO and MERCOSUR panels in trade and environment disputes gives insufficient weight to the lessons learned from this literature, and that future panels should adopt a new approach that explicitly draws on these lessons. I then attempt to apply this new approach to the retreaded tire dispute, based on my own examination of the relevant economic and scientific data, and individual interviews I conducted with representatives of the Brazilian government, the Brazilian tire industry, and MERCOSUR.

Los cambios en la estrategia de inserción internacional seguida tanto por Estados Unidos (EEUU) como por la Unión Europea (UE), en lo que refiere al tipo de instrumento comercial propuesto en las negociaciones con los países de América Latina (AL), han afectado el desarrollo de la política comercial del Mercado Común del Sur (MERCOSUR) y la estrategia de inserción internacional seguida por los integrantes del proceso de integración. Concomitantemente, el bloque no ha cumplido con sus objetivos originarios, hecho que afectó el sentido de pertenencia de los miembros (en especial en el caso de los dos más pequeños) con el proceso de integración. Esta realidad afecta la motivación para seguir dando cumplimiento a las obligaciones impuestas por la conformación de la unión aduanera, que entre otras exigencias impone que las negociaciones comerciales sean llevadas a cabo en conjunto.

Freie Univ., Diplomarbeit u.d.T.: Mühlich, Laurissa: Wechselkursschwankungen und regionale Integration in Entwicklungsländern - Möglichkeiten und Grenzen monetärer Kooperation in Südamerika--Berlin, 2003.

Thesis (M.A. in National Security Affairs)--Naval Postgraduate School, December 2004. / Thesis advisor(s): Harold Trinkunas. Includes bibliographical references (p. 43-45). Also available online.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Pittsburgh, 1995. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 408-413).

Submitted by MARIA LUISA TELAROLLI DE ALMEIDA LEITE (lu_telarolli@hotmail.com) on 2018-06-08T16:20:57Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2018 - LEITE M L T A - O ACORDO DO AQUÍFERO GUARANI E A ÓTICA DA INTEGRAÇÃO REGIONAL.pdf: 4074359 bytes, checksum: f2ac28f9f4d66a2c64c73ca9ab01b941 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Satie Tagara (satie@marilia.unesp.br) on 2018-06-08T17:57:42Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 leite_mlta_me_mar.pdf: 4074359 bytes, checksum: f2ac28f9f4d66a2c64c73ca9ab01b941 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-06-08T17:57:42Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 leite_mlta_me_mar.pdf: 4074359 bytes, checksum: f2ac28f9f4d66a2c64c73ca9ab01b941 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-03-14 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Esta dissertação se propôs a analisar o histórico e os desdobramentos da assinatura do Acordo do Aquífero Guarani (2010), no âmbito do MERCOSUL. A pesquisa buscou pensar se é possível tratar o meio ambiente – mais especificamente a água, devido a sua já reconhecida importância como fonte de conflito e cooperação – como um dos eixos de ação conjunta entre os países por meio de sua gestão compartilhada. Sendo este um tema relevante, foram analisados quais os progressos alcançados nesse sentido e sua relação com ótica da integração entre países que possuem reservas hídricas compartilhadas extremamente ricas e de interesse não apenas regional, mas também mundial, uma vez que a escassez desses recursos se faz presente no dia a dia de diversas populações ao redor do globo. Em suma, a pesquisa teve como fulcro observar em que medida o projeto de integração do MERCOSUL facilitaria ou não a cooperação na gestão do recurso hídrico. Pretendeu-se analisar a governança internacional engendrada no acordo do Aquífero Guarani, o que pressupõe a criação de estruturas supranacionais e extrapola os limites que caracterizam o MERCOSUL do modo como foi concebido, enquanto projeto intergovernamental. Ademais, foi interesse desta dissertação refletir também sobre o modo como a concepção do acordo do Aquífero, embora secundária em relação ao perfil comercial dominante do bloco, poderia ser um estímulo ao aprofundamento da integração entre os países, questão que é debatida, mas aguarda ainda ações mais concretas para sua efetivação. / The study aimed to analyze the history and developments of the signing of the Guarani Aquifer Agreement (2010) within the scope of Mercosur. The research sought to ponder whether it was possible to treat the environment – more specifically water resources, due to their recognized importance as a source of both conflict and cooperation – as one of the axes of joint action between the Mercosur countries through their shared management. Indisputably a relevant theme, the study looked into what progress has been achieved in the cooperative direction, from the perspective of the integration between countries that have extremely rich water reserves and of both regional and worldwide interests, for the scarcity of these reserves is present in the day-to-day life of diverse populations around the globe. In sum, the research focused on evaluating the extent to which the Mercosur integration project would facilitate the cooperation to carry out the water resource management. The intention was to analyze the international governance generated in the Guarani Aquifer Agreement, for it presupposes the creation of supranational structures and goes beyond the limits that characterize the Mercosur in the way it was conceived as an intergovernmental project. In addition, the scope of this project has included pondering how the design of the aquifer agreement, although of minor importance in relation to the dominant commercial profile of the block, could foster deeper integration between the countries, though a controversial issue, it still awaits more concrete actions for their implementation.

O objetivo do presente estudo é verificar como o MERCOSUL vem tratando sua política ambiental, empreendendo uma análise a partir de três modelos estratégicos de regulação aplicáveis a zonas de integração econômica: concorrência regulatória, harmonização e cooperação, que é, em verdade, uma fórmula híbrida com algumas vantagens em relação aos outros dois. Ressalte-se, desde logo, que são poucos os estudos sobre regulação ambiental no MERCOSUL, o que confere importância à pesquisa, mormente se considerada sua abordagem original a partir de modelos estratégicos de regulação ambiental. O método de abordagem utilizado é o dedutivo, partindo-se de modelos abstratos com o escopo de verificar a adequação do MERCOSUL a eles. A pesquisa apontou que o bloco em apreço possui um Acordo-Quadro em matéria ambiental com traços bem característicos de um modelo cooperativo. Todavia, o contexto fático que se seguiu ao acordo não permitiu identificar maiores características dessa estratégia de regulação, o que levou a concluir que, de fato, há no MERCOSUL uma concorrência regulatória em matéria ambiental. Assim, devido às críticas empreendidas à concorrência regulatória, conclui-se que o modelo não é totalmente eficaz para a promoção de uma política ambiental efetiva, bem como para o avanço do processo integracionista. Ao final, são expostas algumas contribuições visando ao aperfeiçoamento da política ambiental mercosulina. / The aim of this study is to analyze how the MERCOSUR deals with its environmental policy, based on three regulatory models applicable to economic integration areas: regulatory competition, harmonization and cooperation, which is, in fact, a hybrid formula with some advantages if compared with the two others. There are few studies on environmental regulation in MERCOSUR, a fact that shows the importance of this research, especially when taking into account its original approach based on regulatory models for the environmental. The research relies on the deductive method, starting from the abstract models with the scope of verifying the adequacy of MERCOSUR to them. The study showed that the trade bloc in question has adopted an Environmental Agreement, which has characteristics of a cooperative model. However, in the factual context that followed the agreement, it was not possible to identify major features of this regulatory model. Therefore, it can be concluded that, in fact, there is a regulatory competition in the MERCOSUR’s environmental policy. Thus, considering regulatory competition critiques, this study concludes that the model adopted by MERCOSUR is not fully effective for the promotion of an efficient environmental policy, as well as to advance in the integration process. Finally, some propositions are made focusing on the optimization of MERCOSUR’s environmental policy.