Abstract In this article we summarize the precepts of Peripheral Realism, its place in the intellectual history of International Relations Theory, its contributions to interpreting Latin American international politics and its insights for the future. After revising the intellectual merits and tenets of the theory in the four initial sections, we show how it predicted the behavior of Latin American states under unipolarity. Finally, we review its implications for a world where China may hold economic primacy.

During the last twenty years or more, relations between Argentina and Brazil started to show some asymmetries that could be interpreted as a path towards a Brazilian hegemony in South America, imposing a new dynamic to their bilateral relations. This trend is not only evident in the quantitative uprise of Brazilian material capabilities vis a vis its southern neighbor, but also qualitatively, in some military and economic aspects of the bilateral relation. Intending to grasp this process, the present article analyzes the concepts of "Hegemony" and "Balance of Power"¹ and evaluates to what extent -and regarding which aspects-, the unipolar relation resembles the former or the later ideal type. After a detailed study of the military and economic dimensions of the bilateral relation, this article concludes that it is only in the economic aspects that the relation is getting increasingly asymmetric, even if still far from a regional hegemony. Finally, the concept of "regional unipolarity with an economic bias" is proposed to better describe the current stage of Argentina-Brazil relations.

The involvement of state bureaucracy -the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Presidency, other Ministries and Congress- and interest group -business, trade unions and non-governmental organizations (NGOs)- in foreign policy making has been understudied in Latin America, besides its multiple implications. This article proposes that the increase in the number of actors involved in foreign policy making generates three effects on a country’s foreign relations: greater stability, greater bargaining power and greater agenda setting power. Afterwards, the actors and their level of participation will be measured in Argentina and Brazil, while six international conjunctures between 1999-2012 are analyzed through process tracing so to contrast the tenets of the theory.

La participación de la burocracia estatal -el Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, la Presidencia, otras instancias ministeriales y el Congreso- y distintos grupos de interés -el empresariado, sindicatos y organizaciones no gubernamentales- en la formulación de política exterior, ha sido un fenómeno poco estudiado en América Latina a pesar de sus muchas implicaciones. Este artículo propone que el incremento en la cantidad de actores involucrados en la formulación de la política exterior genera tres efectos en la misma: mayor estabilidad, mayor poder de negociación y mayor poder de agenda. Posteriormente, identifica los actores que participan en la formulación de política exterior en Argentina y Brasil, y presenta un análisis de seis coyunturas internacionales durante el período 1999-2012 que permiten testear a través de una metodología de process tracing la hipótesis sobre los efectos de dicha participación.

A internacionalização do Estado brasileiro tem sido vista como uma consequência de sua ascensão internacional, muito embora também pudesse ser considerada uma das causas de sua crescente liderança e projeção no exterior. Neste artigo, resume-se o debate atual sobre o processo de formulação da política externa brasileira, discutindo o papel do Ministério das Relações Exteriores, da Presidência da República e sua burocracia e do Congresso. Além disso, propõe-se uma comparação original com a atuação de instituições congêneres da Argentina. Por fim, conclui-se que a menor internacionalização do Estado argentino poderia explicar tanto a perda da influência internacional desse país nos últimos vinte anos, como o êxito brasileiro na região.

The Internationalization of the state in Brazil has often been considered an effect of the country's recent rise as an emerging power, even when it could easily rather be seen as the cause of its mounting projection and leadership. This article summarizes the recent Brazilian debate on foreign policy decision-making, analyzing the role of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the President, the bureaucracy and the Congress. It also proposes an original comparative approach to their equivalents in Argentina. The results show that the lower levels of internationalization of the Argentinean state could easily be interpreted as diminishing the country's international influence in the last twenty years, while explaining Brazilian leadership in the region.

This article is framed within the current debate on emerging powers from a Latin American perspective. It tries to solve some of the theoretical problems of the mainstream rationalist approach in IR theory, proposing a model of change rooted in the current realist program. This framework is applied to the study of power politics in South America with the goal of answering two major questions: why has Brazilian foreign policy been so successful in positioning this country as an emerging power? And why have not any country in the region reacted accordingly to the challenge posed by its mayor regional counterpart rise?

El presente trabajo se enmarca en el actual debate sobre potencias emergentes intentando un aporte desde una perspectiva latinoamericana. Para ello trabajará algunas disyuntivas teóricas que se han tornado difíciles de resolver para el mainstream racionalista de la disciplina, desarrollando un modelo de cambio complementario del programa realista actual. Argumentaremos que este marco presenta algunas ventajas para el estudio de diversas cuestiones relativas a las relaciones de poder en América del Sur, destacando en particular dos preguntas: ¿qué características de la política exterior del Brasil han logrado constituirlo en una potencia emergente? ¿Y por qué los países de la región no han desarrollado una política exterior acorde al desafío que significa el ascenso de su principal contraparte regional?

This article tries to assess the real utility of the concept of "State" to explain certain issues of international politics, considering its importance within mainstream International Relations theories, and to policy makers in general. The current conflict in Afghanistan will serve as case study arguing that the present intervention can not be thought in terms of statehood, because it involves some social realities that are completely different from those of modern Western history. Finally, we will try to explain how dealing with these misperceptions and accepting a broader conception can influence strategic thought and generate new options to solve the conflict.

En este trabajo se intentará cuestionar la utilidad del concepto de "Estado" para interpretar determinados fenómenos de política internacional, considerando la centralidad que tiene el concepto en las teorías de las Relaciones Internacionales y para los formuladores de política exterior en general. Se tomará como caso de estudio el conflicto en Afganistán, argumentando que el mismo no puede circunscribirse a las categorías de lo estatal, en tanto involucra realidades sociales muy diferentes a las presentes en la historia moderna occidental. Después de deconstruir estos conceptos, se intentará postular algunas opciones estratégicas que se desprenden de una concepción más amplia del conflicto.

This work attempts to analyze the thought of Nicholas Machiavelli from an original perspective, paying special attention to his conception of politics. First, we set out to discover the meaning of politics for Machiavelli, his founding presuppositions and the proper characteristics of what he calls "political". Afterwards, we put forward the hypothesis that this author's moral and anthropological conceptions are intrinsically intertwined with his general ideas about politics and power and are their logical derivatives. This review of Machiavelli's work will allow us to make a comprehensive analysis of the philosophical thought underlying his conceptions and to provide an explanation for his notions of man, power and morality.

El presente trabajo pretende analizar, desde una perspectiva original, el pensamiento de Nicolás Maquiavelo, y en especial su concepción de la política. En un principio, nos propondremos discernir qué es la política para este autor, cuáles son sus presupuestos esenciales y qué características propias tiene aquello que llama "político". Posteriormente, intentaremos poner en discusión, mediante un desarrollo sistemático, la hipótesis de que las concepciones éticas y antropológicas de este autor se condicen plenamente con sus ideas sobre la política y el poder, y son los derivados lógicos de ellas. El desarrollo del trabajo permitirá realizar un amplio análisis del trasfondo filosófico de la reflexión maquiavélica y proporcionar una explicación a su noción del hombre, el poder y la moral.