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Based on analysis of Brazilian‐Spanish cooperation in Latin America, this article aims to contribute to the discussion on whether South–South Cooperation (SSC) represents an alternative model with specific and differentiated objectives, or if it largely reproduces the constraints and interests traditionally associated with the North–South model, but with new institutions and actors. We start by analysing the main criticisms levelled at cooperation in the literature, emphasising the identification, review and comparison of the mechanisms of domination and dependency that derive from the bilateral and multilateral practices of traditional development cooperation. We then construct a synthetic dependency index to measure the ability of Spain and Brazil – as representative cases of North–South Cooperation (NSC) and SSC with Latin America – to influence the foreign trade, investment and foreign policy decisions of aid recipients, and to empirically contrast the lower level of verticality that much of the available literature assumes about SSC schemes. The empirical analysis suggests significant differences between NSC and SSC in terms of their ability to reproduce dependency patterns and validate the discourse that tends to identify the latter as an alternative cooperation model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The twenty-first century has been shaped by the emergence of powers from the developing world, with the growing weight of the Global South within the international system. The alliances achieved by these countries gave a new impetus to multilateralism, placing development at the centre of the global agenda. As a result, since the early 2000s, South–South cooperation (SSC) has been gaining increasing prominence, constituting an essential part of the cooperation strategy of many Global South countries. Focusing on its economic, political and technical dimensions, and considering their similar development challenges, this article tries to map Latin America–Africa bilateral SSC initiatives and subsequently reflect on these data. Furthermore, a closer look into those SSC initiatives is provided by considering Africa's two main partners in Latin America: Argentina and Brazil during the period 2003–2015. The study concludes by providing an analysis of their productive bilateral SSC initiatives in order to derive conclusions on the (medium- or long-run) economic potential of such experiences. This would indicate that such SSC potential can help alleviate Global South countries' so-called external constraint through the improvement of their productive structure and trade diversification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This paper discusses the historical trajectories of South-South and triangular cooperation and its dimensions in Latin America. Based on this information, the paper intends to assess the framework’s role as an instrument of public diplomacy in developing countries, which enables participating countries to strengthen their international presence and establish strategic alliances with other countries. Building on the theoretical perspective of the framework, the study analyzes specific Cuban cases of South-South cooperation, linking them with the characteristic elements of public diplomacy, and assesses their impact on international development cooperation. In conclusion, the paper contends that Cuba and South Korea should explore the possible concrete links between the elements of international development cooperation and those of public diplomacy, and seek opportunities to foster South-South cooperation as part of public diplomacy. This will help developing countries to discover and establish new forms of exchanges between them and strengthen their cooperative relations with partner countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From its origins, the Latin American Social Medicine and the Collective Health (LASM/CH) movements have focused on thinking about health from and for the region. After the implementation of neoliberal policies, social improvements and the geopolitical strengthening of the region became the roots of new regional integration projects in South America. The objective of this article is twofold. First, we explore the legacy of long-standing efforts in the region that address the social and political dimensions of health, associated with the LASM/CH movements and their influence on the contemporary regional health agenda. Second, we analyze the UNASUR Health policy, its role in the construction of a regional health agenda, and the principles of South-South cooperation it supports. In order to accomplish this, a qualitative analysis was conducted, involving primary and secondary data. Through UNASUR, a new framework of regional health integration and regional health diplomacy emerged in South America and a 'window of opportunity' opened for the ideas of Social Medicine and Collective Health to occupy a dominant place on the regional health agenda. It is possible to observe a confluence between the principles and values of these movements and those of the main constituent bases of UNASUR Health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article draws from an education governance approach to conduct a pluri-scalar analysis of equity of access to tertiary education in the context of South-South cooperation. An account of distributional justice in access to tertiary education in the Federative Republic of Brazil and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is integrated with a structural approach related to South-South cooperation among the two nations as well as within the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR), upon which two interrelated arguments are developed: first, despite persistent inequities in access to university education in both territories, state-interventionist policies enhance equity of access directly with respect to availability and accessibility. Second, South-South cooperation transforms the background conditions for educational justice by producing an alternative structure to the neoliberal global governance of education and its agenda of privatisation and commercialisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Why do leftist governments in Latin America prefer building relationships with China rather than with the U.S., particularly in the twenty-first century? This paper examines the nature of the interrelationship between the U.S. and Latin America, and that between China and Latin America, and argues that the embedded political and ideological aspects are key factors to consider when answering the question, albeit in a prevailing capitalism-oriented world economy. This has been evident in the historical trajectory of China’s relationship with Latin America, which has evolved in a manner quite different from the way in which the U.S. has interacted with Latin America. While this paper acknowledges that economic factors are more important in shaping the nature of relationships among nation-states, this research explores the extent to which the elites' individual levels of perception and their embedded ideological orientation towards the third party plays a critical role in guiding the interaction which they carry out among themselves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to consider the relationship between domestic change and foreign policy in Brazil, a country seeking to become Latin America's hegemon, and achieve greater global status. It focuses on Brazil's partnerships with other countries in the Global South. It argues that, due to the combination of institutions and interests behind foreign policy-making in Brazil, there is no coherent project of South-South engagement. As a result, South-South ties tend to contradict the Brazilian government's foreign policy objective of acting as a global equaliser. The study also examines the drivers of Brazil's foreign conduct, and argues that the politico-economic determinants of foreign policy differ from those of domestic policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growing presence of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in South America highlights its domestic priorities. On the economic side, high levels of development, source of political stability and international recognition, exacerbate the need of importing natural resources and exporting manufactured products. Politically, the policy of national reunification, which is also an important provider of stability drawn from nationalism, demand strengthening relations with countries in areas attracted by Taiwan, isolating the island in the international arena. Beijing is actively working to increase its political leverage and shape the agenda of international politics giving South-South cooperation a strategic dimension well beyond mutual development. This fits South American objectives, namely the ones of Brazil, Argentina and Venezuela, that aim at diversifying international partnerships and perceive China as an alternative to the traditional orientation towards Latin America, the US and Europe. Positioning itself as a stakeholder, China creates the basis for an alternative international order using persuasion. The Chinese soft power in South America may be a drop of water in a much broader strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]