Le Brésil et le MERCOSUR : étude des stratégies de recherche de l'autonomie et de la puissance
The purpose of this thesis is to contribute to the understanding of why the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR) member states have failed (to date) to create a common market in the Southern Cone. We believe that additionally to the generally accepted causes in the scientific literature – presence of asymmetries, divergence of interests and economic obstacles – the increasing power of Brazil and its quest of autonomy should be given more attention. This research project takes the hypothesis that: (1) research strategy of autonomy through participation favoured the creation and deepening of MERCOSUR during its early years, and (2) the rise of Brazil and the resulting strategy of autonomy through diversification reduced the importance of the MERCOSUR for Brazil and also undermined the deepening of the institution’s economic integration. To do this, we will analyze in parallel the quest of autonomy through participation as well as the quest of autonomy through diversification and the evolution of the MERCOSUR. We will use Gross domestic product as the main economic indicator to witness the rise of power of Brazil during the 1990-2012 period.
Mercosur Brazil Autonomy Power Emerging power