Mercosul External Policies in a Multipolar World

ABSTRACT

The creation of Mercosur rested on perceptions of US and European economic and political “hegemony” to which the new regional trade arrangement was viewed as an appropriate response. Since then the world economy has evolved in ways that question these assumptions, driven by the sharp increase in the number of economic activities that are in competition on a world scale. Other major economies, notably China and India, have been more successful than the Southern Cone countries in adapting to this multipolar world economy, challenging Mercosul to find new responses.