ARGENTINA'S GRAND STRATEGY IN TIMES OF HEGEMONIC TRANSITION: CHINA, PERIPHERAL REALISM AND MILITARY IMPORTS

Résumé 0

This paper applies peripheral realist theory to the analysis of the opportunities open to Argentina as a result of the ascent of China, which is already a more important importer of Argentina, Brazil and Chile than the United States. It assumes that the decline of a superpower that does not complement itself well with Argentina's, and its replacement by a power that needs part of its production, is beneficial to its interests. It reminds us that Argentina is a case of declining state mobility, and that its decay was accentuated by two main historical policies: its neutrality during World War II, and the Falkland/Malvinas War of 1982. These policies showed that its leadership did not understand how the interstate order works. Indeed, world order is hierarchical: a handful of states are rule-makers; a great many are rule-takers; and another handful are rebels. The study concludes that Argentina's rebellions are mainly to blame for its notable degradation, whereby it has lost its capacity to defend itself vis-à-vis neighbors that are not great powers. The new changes in world order, however, could help it recover its lost status, so long as it develops an adequate relation with China. The study concludes that Argentina's rebellions are mainly to blame for its degradation, whereby it has to-date lost its capacity to defend itself vis-à-vis neighbors that are not great powers: a quasi-protectorate. The new changes in the world order, however, could help it recover its lost status, so long as it develops a modus vivendi with China.