Colombian foreign policy: Contestation by institution building

Abstract

Brazil has launched a regional leadership project in South America to strengthen its global position, yet secondary regional powers have contested it through diverse means and to different ends. Among these secondary regional powers, Colombia represents a case of institutional contestation. In this chapter, Flemes and Castro address how Colombia has deployed institutional contestation in relation to Brazil, especially in the context of Colombia’s new international identity and the creation of the Pacific Alliance. The authors examine the impact of the latest political and structural changes that South America is undergoing-the decline of leftist populism in South America and the downgrading of former secondary powers such as Venezuela–on Colombia’s contestation approach. Finally, they identify the main drivers that have influenced the variations in its contestation approach.