The Foreign Policy of Uruguay (1985-2025): Mercosur on the Agenda of a Small State
Keywords:
Uruguay, Mercosur, Small StateAbstract
The article proposes an analysis of the general orientations of Uruguayan foreign policy between 1985 and 2025, structured around four central topics: domestic politics; foreign policy guidelines; developments at the Mercosur level; and developments in the international system. Through a literature review, it seeks to understand, in particular, the role played by Mercosur as the central pillar of Uruguay’s international insertion strategy. The core argument holds that, although Uruguay presents a coherent and institutionalized foreign policy, historically sustained by interparty consensus, its actions are strongly conditioned by systemic and subsystemic dynamics, revealing the structural vulnerability of small states in the face of transformations in the international and regional systems.
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