A Organização dos Estados Americanos (OEA) e a disseminação de ideias de democracia na América Latina

Abstract

This dissertation examines the role of the Organization of American States (OAS) in the dissemination of ideas of democracy in Latin America, especially from the Post-Cold War period to the present. Thus, it is based on two central arguments: that ideas matter in international relations; and that, among the international actors that spread them, the International Organizations – as International Bureaucracies – are agents in the construction, protection and defense of ideas. For this purpose, initially, the reflection will be built on the contributions of the constructivist perspective of International Relations, whose thought is that ideas are fundamental for the constitution of realities, agents, interests and identities in the international context. Regarding the international organizations, the constructivist approach of international institutions as international bureaucracies stands out, providing the understanding of the logic of these organizations, both in the structural aspect and in the relevance of sectors, individuals and staff of international bureaucracies. Then, this research will discuss the evolution of the ideas of democracy, focusing especially on the procedural (or minimalist) and substantial (or participacionist) conceptions, will show the specificity and the problems of the Latin American democracy, and will observe the concept of democracy advocated by the OAS at the regional level of performance, primarily through its normative influence. Finally, the OAS behavior and its cooperation in the thematic area of defense and protection of democracy will be observed, focusing, especially, on the influences of cognitive and executive organization and congruence of ideas through the development of cooperation between institutions in order to build reports of studies and dialogue mechanisms (seminars, forums and meetings), in which ideas of democracies also be defended and disseminated. To achieve the aim of this research, literature reviews on concepts used by theorists of Political Science and International Relations will be conducted, as well as documentary and discourse of international civil servants of the OAS analysis, and interviews.