ANALYSIS OF UNASUR’S INTERVENTIONS IN THE FIELD OF CONFLICT PREVENTION (2008-2012)

Abstract

UNASUR, the regional organization that is going through its most critical moment since its creation has intervened in a series of conflicts in South America within the framework of its objective of configuring an area of peace in the region; the cases of intra-state situations include Bolivia in 2008, Ecuador in 2010 and Paraguay in 2012. This article analyzes the elements that characterize a strategy of preventive diplomacy, in the interventions executed by the Union of South American Nations in these internal situations. The purpose is to identify a probable causal relationship between the presence and combination of these elements and the outcome of the crisis in question. In conclusion, it is argued that the difference in the factors during the three interventions of the Union is not attributable as the main cause of the different results in those conflicts.