Where is multilateralism going in the americas? Overlapping organizations in a period of global change

Abstract

To explain the proliferation of regional and sub-regional international organizations in the Americas after the end of the Cold War, it is necessary to study the purposes of such organizations, their objectives (integration or political cooperation) and the place they play in the foreign policy strategies of the main actors in the Hemisphere, including how they are building their relationships with the new global system. A review of the interplay among old and new regional and sub-regional organizations (taking into account its purposes, resources, and capabilities for policy coordination), the reach of their mandates, and the role they could have vis-à-vis global institutions and extra-hemispheric powers will illuminate the new structure of multilateralism in the Americas.