ABSTRACT
Historically, one of the key concerns aired in Latin America about global politics relates to the problem of autonomy. Although mainstream International Relations (IR) theories all make reference, either explicitly or implicitly, to state autonomy (see Tokatlian 1996) the concept has normally been associated with domestic capacities, and thus hidden within the black-box image ascribed to states as unitary actors. However, an alternative reading, in which autonomy has been linked to both the defense of Latin American interests internationally, and to state and nation building, and development locally, has been a key factor in understandings of both the world and the region’s place in it.
