L’integrazione regionale dell’America Latina: lo sguardo del costituzionalista sul cono d’ombra della dottrina Monroe

The regional integration of Latin America: the constitutional perspective in the shadow cone of the Monroe doctrine

Abstract

Starting from the analysis of an fragmented frame, the paper aims to intercept the interference that the Monroe Doctrine has generated on regional integration processes in Latin America, taking into account the many other historical, social and juridical factors that are intertwined, giving rise to split and proliferation scenarios. Looking 'from the north' is indispensable but no longer sufficient to interpret the regional relations of recent decades, certainly characterised by phenomena such as diplomacia presidencial, but also the institucionalización of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. There remains the need to go back to 1823 in order to understand the roots of practices and resistances that, although conditions have changed, still seem to influence relations in the Latin American region today; but it is necessary to do so by broadening the spectrum of investigation.

Keywords: Monroe doctrine; Latin America; Inter-American court of human rights; Presidential diplomacy; Regional integration