ABSTRACT
Most studies of regional integration have historically focused on European integration, which stands out due to its solid supranational institutions, deep economic integration, and cultural exchange, despite ongoing crises. From a non-Eurocentric perspective, regional integration therefore must be understood as a form of increasing economic, political, and social cross-border interactions such as trade flows, migration networks, and political institutions. The disintegration of the Eastern bloc ended the Cold War and opened up new possibilities for regional integration. Regional integration in Latin America is facing severe challenges as contradicting projects emerge. Open regionalism agreements include lowered duties in the agricultural sector, liberalization of services and investment, establishment of intellectual property rights, and liberalization of government procurement. The US had already embarked on neoliberalism with the election of President Ronald Reagan in 1981, while Canada’s neoliberal turn proceeded much slower beginning in the mid-1980s.
