How South American Countries Balance Brazil

What is it about?

This article is about balance of power in South America. Many scholars have denied that states in Latin America behave in a realist manner (balancing each other). This article demonstrates that this conclusion is wrong and exlplains why so many scholars have been mistaken about it. Balancing exists, but is filtered by domestic political instability. When South American countries are stable, realism is the best predictor of foreign policy.

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Why is it important?

This article is important because it brings realism back to the debate about Latin American (and more particularly, South American) politics. The denial of realism had led to a complete underestimation of issues related to international security. One would think that the most insecure region in the world would have developed a body of knowldege about international security, but this has been prevented by the dismissal of realism. This article exlains why we should bring it back to the debate.

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