Of Blind People, Elephants and the Pacific Alliance Integration: Institutionalist Account and Proposals For Change

Abstract

The Pacific Alliance (PA) presents itself as a sui generis ‘mechanism for regional integration’ comprising Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru. In this thesis, I examine the main institutional features of the PA, the factors that explain these institutional choices and to what extent its institutional framework is suitable to support the objectives of the PA in the long-term. The scope of the thesis is threefold: descriptive, explanatory and normative. I take an interdisciplinary and eclectic approach to study the institutional dimension of the PA. I base my analysis on insights from new institutionalisms — constructivist and rational institutionalisms — while following a legal orientation wh..