Integration processes in MERCOSUR: modern features and dynamics of development

The article examines the current state and prospects for the development of the MERCOSUR integration association – the common market of South American countries. The purpose of the analysis carried out in the article is to determine the role and place of Argentina in MERCOSUR. The subject of the study is the integration association in MERCOSUR, and the object is the modern specifics of integration processes within the framework of the association. The article analyzes the main macroeconomic indicators of the association and the structure of trade both within the bloc and with third countries. Based on a comprehensive and in-depth statistical analysis based on data from the international database of UNCTAD, the authors conclude that the prospects for further economic development of MERCOSUR are quite promising. The countries of the association are steadily increasing their economic potential, as well as the level of mutual cooperation in various fields – trade, investment, and digitalization. The Association is increasingly actively cooperating with third countries, largely due to Brazil's participation in the BRICS. Thus, the article shows that the integration process has advanced in qualitative aspects, and the prospects for its further development can be assessed as positive. At the same time the integration process in MERCOSUR is not free from problems and difficulties at both the country and continental and global levels, which limit and restrain its further deepening and development. The study period is 2012–2022. As a methodology, the article uses reliable statistical information and provides its comparative analysis using visual methods. The authors used historical and complex approaches.

1. Kostyunina G. M., Kozlova O. A. Integratsionnye protsessy v Latinskoy Amerike kak faktor sodeystviya vneshney torgovle [Integration Processes in Latin America as a Factor in Promoting Foreign Trade]. Rossiyskiy vneshneekonomicheskiy vestnik [Russian Foreign Economic Bulletin], 2018, No. 4, pp. 51-67. (In Russ.). DOI: 10.24411/2072-8042-2018-00036.

2. Lavut A. A. Poiski latinoamerikanskoy strategii razvitiya v usloviyakh nestabilnosti globalnoy ekonomiki [The Search for a Latin American Development Strategy in Conditions of Instability of the Global Economy] Latinskaya Amerika. [Latin America], 2020, No. 1, pp. 33–46. (In Russ.). DOI: 10.31857/S0044748X0007757-1.

3. Lazanyuk I. V., Abu Z. D. M. Kh., Eeberdyeva M. M. Perspektivy ekonomiki tsifrovykh platform v stranakh Latinskoy Ameriki [Prospects for the Economy of Digital Platforms in Latin American Countries]. Voprosy innovatsionnoy ekonomiki [Issues of Innovative Economics], 2024, Vol. 14, No. 1, pp. 55-72. (In Russ.). DOI: 10.18334/vinec.14.1.120232.

4. Lazanyuk I. V., Abu Z. D. M. Kh. Vliyanie integratsii na ekonomiku stran Latinskoy Ameriki: opyt Peru [The Impact of Integration on the Economy of Latin American Countries: the Experience of Peru]. Voprosy innovatsionnoy ekonomiki [Issues of Innovative Economics], 2022, Vol. 12, No. 3, pp. 1941-1964. (In Russ.). DOI: 10.18334/vinec.12.3.115097.

5. Polovnikova A., Kalugina P. Ot Pax Britannica k Pax Americana: opyt liberalnogo imperializma Britanskoy imperii i SSHA [From Pax Britannica to Pax Americana: the Experience of Liberal Imperialism of the British Empire and the USA]. Mezhdunarodnyy aspekt [International Aspect], 2022, Vol. 3, No. 3 (9), pp. 8-29. (In Russ.).

6. Suvorov V. L., Poplavskiy S. P. Podgotovka spetsialistov v oblasti natsionalnoy bezopasnosti i oborony gosudarstva - trebovanie vremeni [Training of Specialists in the Field of National Security and Defense of the State -the Requirement of Time]. Voennaya mysl [Military Thought], 2012, No. 11, pp. 64-69. (In Russ.).

7. Tayar V. M. ES - Latinskaya Amerika: perekhod na konstruktivnuyu model sotrudnichestva [EU – Latin America: Transition to a Constructive Model of Cooperation]. Sovremennaya Evropa [Modern Europe], 2020, No. 6, pp. 90-100. (In Russ.).

8. Ursul A. D. Latinoamerikanskiy vektor dostizheniya globalnoy ustoychivosti [Latin American Vector of Achieving Global Sustainability]. Mirovaya politika [World Politics], 2020, No. 2, pp. 102-115. (In Russ.).

9. Kheyfets L. S., Konovalova K. A. Latinoamerikanskie issledovaniya integratsii: ot periferiynogo kapitalizma k «Sudamekzitu» [Latin American Integration Studies: from Peripheral Capitalism to "Sudamexit"]. Vestnik Rossiyskogo universiteta druzhby narodov. Seriya: Mezhdunarodnye otnosheniya. [Bulletin of the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia. Series: International Relations], 2019, No. 2, pp. 218-233. (In Russ.). DOI: 10.22363/2313-0660-2019-19-2-218-233.

10. Shkvarya L. V. Mirovoe khozyaystvo kak sistema i ego osnovnye sistemnye kharakteristiki [World Economy as a System and Its Main System Characteristics]. Sovremennaya ekonomicheskaya teoriya i reformirovanie ekonomiki Rossii, materialy nauchno-prakticheskoy konferentsii [Modern Economic Theory and the Reformation of the Russian Economy, Materials of the Scientific and Practical Conference]. Part. 2. Moscow, Ekonomika, 2010, pp. 167-170. (In Russ.).

11. Comini N., Frenkel A. Unasur De proyecto refundacional al. fantasma del Sudamexit. Regional de América Latina y el Caribe, 2016, No. 13, pp. 181-208.

12. Guandalini I. Sustainability through Digital Transformation: A Systematic Literature Review for Research Guidance. Journal of Business Research, 2022, No. 148, pp. 456-471.

13. Iglesias Enrique V. Reflexiones sobre la coyuntura internacional y regional. Estudios Internacionales. Available at: https://revistaei.uchile.cl/i ndex.php/ REI/article/view/47531.

14. Perrotta D. V. El campo de estudios de la integración regional y su aporte a las Relaciones Internacionales: una mirada desde América Latina. Relaciones Internacionales, 2018, No. 38, pp. 9-39.

15. Zelada S. COVID-19, un acelerador de la transformación digital. Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (DTTL). Available at: https://www2.deloitte.com/pe/es/pages/technology/articles/COVID19-unacelerador-de-la-transformacion-digital.html#.