ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with the finances of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR). To shed light on this issue, the main expenses of the official UNASUR budget are analysed with respect to transparency, informal practices and the consequences they give rise to, with special emphasis on the Defence Council and related institutions. Between 2008 and 2018, UNASUR mainly reflected an emancipatory moment in South American regionalism during which South American nations wished to be independent from the US and the inter-American system. The chapter thus examines how budget practices and financial contributions towards solving security and defence problems and crises have been part of this process.
