Venezuela, ALBA, and the Limits of Postneoliberal Regionalism in Latin America and the Caribbean (Studies of the Americas)

This book provides a comprehensive analysis of the implementation, functioning, and impact of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA), cornerstone of Venezuelan foreign policy and standard-bearer of "postneoliberal" regionalism during the "Left Turn" in Latin America and the Caribbean (1998-2016). It reveals that cooperation via ALBA's regionalised social missions, state multinationals, development bank, People's Trade Agreement, SUCRE virtual currency, and Petrocaribe soft-loan scheme has often been hampered by complexity and conflict between the national political economies of Ecuador, Dominica, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Antigua and Barbuda, and especially Venezuela. Shared commitments to endogenous development, autonomy within mutlipolarity, and novel sources of legitimacy are undermined by serious deficiencies in control and accountability, which stem largely from the defining influence of Venezuela's dysfunctional economy and governance. This dual dependency on Venezuela leaves the future of ALBA hanging in the balance. Asa K. Cusack (Latin America and Caribbean Centre, London School of Economics and Political Science, UK) received his PhD in Latin American and Caribbean political economy from the University of Sheffield, UK, and has held research positions at University College London and the Institute of Latin American Studies This edited collection is only the second academic publication dedicated solely to Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA), the "Left Turn" regional project founded by Venezuela and Cuba in 2004 and since expanded to Bolivia, Ecuador, Nicaragua, and much of the Anglophone Caribbean. As ALBA celebrates its first decade, this book offers a considered, critical, and comprehensive account of the project. This work provides insights into all manner of unanswered questions: among others, the roles and involvement of member-states both central and peripheral; the nature of ALBA governance; the sustainability of the project; its effect on domestic politics; and the true nature and extent of specific initiatives. Bringing together scholars from across ideological divides, the book provides a comprehensive analysis of ALBA's successes and failures, evaluating the project's viability and mapping possible future trajectories. The opacity of ALBA and its member-states, and the perplexing lack of research into ALBA despite its significance, makes the contribution of this edited volume a particularly valuable one Annotation This book provides a comprehensive analysis of the implementation, functioning, and impact of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA), cornerstone of Venezuelan foreign policy and standard-bearer of "postneoliberal" regionalism during the "Left Turn" in Latin America and the Caribbean (1998-2016). It reveals that cooperation via ALBA's regionalised social missions, state multinationals, development bank, People's Trade Agreement, SUCRE virtual currency, and Petrocaribe soft-loan scheme has often been hampered by complexity and conflict between the national political economies of Ecuador, Dominica, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Antigua and Barbuda, and especially Venezuela. Shared commitments to endogenous development, autonomy within mutlipolarity, and novel sources of legitimacy are undermined by serious deficiencies in control and accountability, which stem largely from the defining influence of Venezuela's dysfunctional economy and governance. This dual dependency on Venezuela leaves the future of ALBA hanging in the balance Front Matter ....Pages i-xiii Approaching Venezuela, ALBA, and Postneoliberalism (Asa K. Cusack)....Pages 1-25 Getting to Grips with ALBA’s Brand Governance (Asa K. Cusack)....Pages 27-56 The National Roots of ALBA (Asa K. Cusack)....Pages 57-92 The People’s Trade Agreement (TCP) (Asa K. Cusack)....Pages 93-117 The Unified Regional Compensation System (SUCRE) (Asa K. Cusack)....Pages 119-152 Petrocaribe (Asa K. Cusack)....Pages 153-189 Venezuela, ALBA, and the Limits of Postneoliberal Regionalism (Asa K. Cusack)....Pages 191-212 Back Matter ....Pages 213-218