ONGOING RESEARCH PROJECTS

LAT-GLOB explores the role and place of Latin America (LA) in the elaboration of global norms. LA has long been thought of as occupying a peripheral position in the international arena. Because of this subordinate position and because it is dominated by power politics, the Latin American continent has been discarted from the analysis of global norms construction, that structure global politics. In the face of this observation, a number of recent historiographical works have opened a breach by demonstrating that this observation is, if not erroneous, at least exaggerated. The Latin American states have in fact contributed to the development of global norms in various sectors during the 19th and 20th centuries. What about the contemporary period? In various sectors, formal international negotiations are underway to elaborate the contours of new modes of governance that will help define the global order of the 21st century. The study we are proposing thus intends to fulfill two objectives: to assess the place and role of LA in the contemporary global order and to define its nature. To this end, three surveys will be conducted on current international negotiations in three sectors: high seas, outer space, and global public health.

Grant : 75 000,00€
Period : 2022-2027
Principal Investigator: Kevin Parthenay

Selected publications:

• A paraître (2026) Latin America and the Crafting of Global Norms.
• A paraître – « Contesting the World Order through Equity in the Pandemic Treaty Negotiations: the perspective of Latin American States ».
• « Négocier le « Traité de la Haute Mer » (BBNJ) : la diplomatie océanique des États d’Amérique latine et Caraïbes », Études Internationales, Vol.53, numéro 1, automne 2023.

REGPOL-ALA will favor the deepening of an original research on the sociological dimensions of regionalisms and, thus, to converge research agendas around the way in which regionalism has become an actor and a scale of regulation in the contemporary global order. The project raises one general research question: is regional political authority on the increase? In order to address this question, the project builds on the intersection of IR institutionalisms, international political sociology, and international public administration. The project advances debates in the comparative regionalism and regional governance literatures by offering a context-sensitive framework of analysis of regional bureaucracies, staffs and practices. Methodologically, a mixed methods approach (prosopography, ethnographic observations and semi-structured interviews) supplemented by inter-regional comparisons (on the basis of three variables presented further) will advance debates in IR concerning the effects of cumulative micro- level factors (individual characteristics) on macro-transformations (regional political authority).


Grant: 214 361,00€
Period : 2023-2027
Principal Investigator: Kevin Parthenay
PhD. Student : Mathilde Mollard.
Institutional partner : UNU-CRIS.

Selected publications:

• A paraître – “How does differentiation between IOs and RIOs influence the study of international authority?”
• “How Staff Recruitment in Regional Organizations Gets Institutionalized? A case for comparisons in the Global South”, Global Studies Quarterly, Vol 4 (1). (Q1)
• Exploring the Determinants of Regional Health Governance Modes in the Global South: A Comparative Analysis of Central and South America, Review of International Studies, Vol. 47(4), 2021 (avec Agostinis Giovanni) (Q1)