Transnational Perspectives on Latin America : The Entwined Histories of a Multi-State Region

Latin America is a region made up of multiple states and societies with a diversity of races, ethnicities, and cultures. These states share historical legacies, cultural backgrounds and institutional frameworks, as well as political and socioeconomic challenges--but can one say they share a "regional perspective," if such perspectives even exist? In Transnational Perspectives on Latin America , Luis Roniger argues that the notion of Latin America is significant for understanding these societies' multiple connections and spillover across state boundaries. He claims that cross-border networks, a protracted concern and at times involvement in the affairs of neighboring states have shaped the region's modern character as much as the process of nation-state formation. Geopolitical, sociological, and cultural trends molded a contiguity of influences, leading sometimes to state confrontations, but overall, shaping a transnational arena of connected histories, interactions, and visions, complementing the process of separate nation-state formation. The book offers fresh readings of the dynamics of this region of multiple societies that have shared historical and cultural connections and developed divergent paths while unable to fully disengage from one another. Its chapters analyze persisting forms of circulation and articulation of networks, practices and ideas crossing international borders. Among the topics covered are political exile; the interface of state building and transnationalism; wars and the diffusion of conspiracy theories; the transnational imprint of the Cold War and democratization; social movements and transnational solidarity; states' geopolitical shifts and their impact on Jewish and Muslim citizens. The book closes with a chapter on twenty-first century dilemmas and challenges, including the process of segmented regional integration, state accountability, the vitality and limits of citizenship regimes, and pandemic politics. Latin America is a multistate and polyglot region with diverse races, ethnicities, and cultures, yet it shares historical legacies, institutional frameworks, and political and socioeconomic challenges. Crystallized as the “farthest West” in the global expansion that started with Iberian transatlantic colonialism and forced intercivilizational encounters, shared development, and inner diversity, it is an ideal laboratory for comparative institutional analysis. This perspective has enabled enlightening processes that encompass multiple countries and affect their political, social, and cultural experiences. At various historical junctures, political figures, intellectuals, and social movements led strategies of mutual recognition and reconnection among sister nations and states. This book claims that in addition to approaching the region with a comparative lens, one should also address it from a transnational perspective that accounts for the twin processes of nation-state building and multistate linkages. The chapters follow the connections among countries and those that unfold in the transnational arena in ways that show the significance of a regional perspective, without obliterating the consciousness of distinct political development. Chapters address issues of key historical and contemporary relevance, including the belated construction of state boundaries; the interplay between state claims and transnational dynamics; political exile; international wars and conspiracy theories; regional counterinsurgency and its transnational impact on policies of transitional justice; the tension between regional principles protecting democracy and those predicating nonintervention; the emergence of social movements with a transnational vision; and processes of transnational legitimization and delegitimization of Jewish and Muslim minorities. The concluding chapter discusses transnational challenges and twenty-first-century dilemmas. "The book addresses the entwined histories of a multi-state region, exploring the development of Latin American societies in terms of the twin processes of nation-state building and transnational connections. Its chapters analyze persisting forms of circulation, transmission and articulation of networks, practices and ideas across international borders. Among the topics covered are political exiles; international wars and the diffusion of conspiracy theories; the transnational imprint of the Cold War and democratization; the new social movements; geopolitical alliances and their impact on the standing of Jewish and Muslim citizens. The book closes with a chapter on transnational challenges and twenty-first century dilemmas, including the process of segmented regional integration, the vitality and limits of citizenship regimes, state accountability and pandemic politics"-- Provided by publisher Cover Title Pages Contents Acknowledgments Abbreviations Introduction 1. Latin America as a Multistate Region 2. Latin American Modernities: Global, Transnational, Uneven, Open-Ended 3. The Interface of Nation-State Building and Transnationalism 4. The Politics of Exclusion: Exile and Its Transnational Impacts 5. International Wars and Conspiracy Theories 6. The Cold War and Its Transnational Imprint in the Americas 7. Democratizing Societies Confront Their Past: The Interface of Domestic and Transnational Factors 8. The Crystallization and Erosion of Transnational Solidarity: Chavismo and the Nuestramerican Rhetoric and Practice 9. Diasporas, Transnational Ties, and Ethnic- Religious Minorities: Jewish and Muslim Latin Americans 10. Transnational Challenges and Twenty-First-Century Dilemmas Epilogue Notes Index Latin America is a region made up of multiple states with a diversity of races, ethnicities, and cultures. In 'Transnational Perspectives on Latin America', Luis Roniger argues that a regional perspective is significant for understanding this part of the Western hemisphere. He claims that geopolitical, sociological, and cultural trends molded a contiguity of influences, shaping a transnational arena of connected histories, cross-border interactions, and shared visions, complementing the process of separate nation-state formation.-- Provided by publisher