ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book reviews the transformations and explains the new trends shaping regional blocs and cooperation in the Americas. The book describes the period of Latin American regionalism as a variable geometry, establishing an analogy with the European case. It argues that open regionalism was in crisis since the mid-2000s, and this led to a redefinition of regionalism and to the appearance of what he also calls a “post-liberal” regional integration. The book deals with the complexity of the regional designs existing in Central American countries and how they have adapted to the changing environments in which these countries interact. It discusses the emergence of what they call “post-liberal” regionalism in Latin America. The book argues that the Pacific Alliance has revived open regionalism as an alternative model of regionalism in Latin America.
