Interregionalism Beyond Regional Organisations: EU–LAC Cooperation and Regionalisation

This PhD project examines how European Union (EU) cooperation initiatives with Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) influence processes of regionalisation in the region. It focuses on issue-specific programmes with a regional scope in areas such as cybersecurity, digital connectivity, organised crime, and drug policy, which bring together several LAC countries without necessarily operating through formal regional organisations.

The research explores how these initiatives contribute to the emergence of regional coordination mechanisms, shared standards, and transnational professional networks. More broadly, the project investigates how EU–LAC relations are reshaping regionalism beyond traditional region-to-region frameworks. It also critically examines the power dynamics embedded in these forms of cooperation, asking whether they promote regional cohesion, generate new asymmetries, or create overlapping governance structures across the region.