Geopolitics and Economy of Latin America (2235.YR.015354.1)

General information

Type:	OPT	Curs:	3	Period:	S semester
ECTS Credits:	3 ECTS

Teaching Staff:

Group	Teacher	Department	Language
Year 3	Nicolas Pi Foucras	Sociedad, Política y Sostenibilidad	ENG

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The course aims to offer a general overview of the social, economic, political and cultural context in Latin American countries. The local and regional specific dynamics have evolved rapidly in recent years due to the internationalization of countries but also given the fact that new foreign and domestic players have emerged. It will be therefore important to understand the specificities of the regional environment in order to consider a professional relationship but also to analyse current developments. The course also plans to evaluate the risks and opportunities associated with the business venture.

The course aims to analyze and understand, within the framework of a multidisciplinary approach, the geopolitical and economic context of the Latin American and Caribbean region. In an international environment marked by a change in the global order and a redistribution of powers, Latin American countries have sought to adapt through different strategies; however, the future remains uncertain and history seems to be repeating itself. While some countries seek to preserve their special relationship with the United States, others are looking for alternatives, for example by deepening their ties with China. The vast majority continue to pursue the "dream" of regional integration, however the usual obstacles have not been overcome despite the leadership of the great regional powers that are Brazil and Mexico. This inability to define a regional political-economic project has affected the region's ability to have a voice in global governance and have control over its destiny. In addition, the difficulties in building lasting cooperation and collaboration structures at the regional level have not allowed Latin American countries to find a common solution to similar problems. On the other hand, from a more economic perspective, Latin America continues to face great challenges, such as the recurring primarization aggravated by the deepening of trade relations with China, the growing gap in productivity and competitiveness compared to the driving countries of the international economy, which translates into strong socio-economic instability and a growing informal economy, public and private indebtedness reaching new worrying levels, mainly imported inflation that affects the purchasing power and monetary stability of the countries of the region. , a criminal economy that occupies more and more space in all economic sectors, etc. In short, the objective of this subject is to provide students with tools that will allow them to deepen their analytical and critical capacity; At the end of this course, students will be able to understand the challenges of Latin America and anticipate the future.

1. Overview

2. Geopolitics of Latin America

3. Latin America in the face of the new global order

4. Integrationist dynamics and economic opening

5. Economic characteristics of the region and major challenges

6. Informal and criminal economies

The evaluation system takes into account three variables:

1. Oral presentations (40%). Each group of students will have to prepare and present two mini-oral presentations of 15mn during the whole period of the course. The topics of these presentations will be delivered in advance by the teacher and will have to be based on the literature as well as on reflection. Each oral presentation will have a value of 20% of the final grade.

2. Final investigation (50%). Each group of students will have to carry out a research project based on a topic of their choice and accepted by the teacher. The topic selected by the students will have to adjust to the contents of the course, however they may focus on aspects: economic, social, cultural or political. The deliverables will be the following: All the groups will present orally the results of their work in the last session of the course and all groups will submit to the teacher the PPT presentation.
3. Participation (10%). The presence and participation of students will be taken into consideration.

- A?lvarez Alonso Ce?sar and Herna?ndez G Jose? Ignacio, 2019, Latin American geopolitics : migration, cities and globalization, Cham, Switzerland : Palgrave Macmillan.
- Sánchez de Rojas Díaz, 2016, Geopolitics of Latin America. Is Necessary a Political Study of South America?, Instituto Español de Estudios Estratégicos
- Detlef Nolte and Leslie E. Wehner, 2015, Geopolitics in Latin America, Old and New, Routledge Handbook of Latin American Security Routledge
- Spillan John E., 2014 Doing Business in Latin America: Challenges and Opportunities, Routledge Edition
- Wigell Mikael and Landivar de Strange Ana Soliz, China's Economic Statecraft in Latin America: Geostrategic Implications for the United States, in Mikael Wigell, Sören Scholvin and Mika Aaltola (eds.), Geo-Economics and Power Politics in the 21st Century: The Revival of Economic Statecraft, London, Routledge, 2019 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/325334155_China's_Economic_Statecraft_in_Latin_America_Geostrategic_Implications_for_the_United_States
- OECD et al., 2021, Latin American Economic Outlook 2021: Working Together for a Better Recovery, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/5fedabe5-en

Group	Teacher	Department
Year 3	Nicolas Pi Foucras	Sociedad, Política y Sostenibilidad