1. Brief History and Introduction

China is the second largest country after Russia, having over 1.3 billion as her population. Its history that will be discussed goes back to the 20th century, with one of her forefather figures, Sun Yat-Sen. His Kuomingtang (KMT) party managed to build up China’s culture and important areas of growth, e.g. economic and political ideology. Probably the most recent major incident experienced by the country was the Tiannanmen Square Protests of 1989, which saw violent student protests and massacres, after which it served as a reminder for the Chinese to uphold social harmony. Having successfully hosted the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China is considered to be a fast growing country with an increasing authority in international relations.

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There are several groups out and about actively proclaiming the “end of history.” A few sects of Christianity are claiming an imminent religious apocalypse, while the recently famous 2012 prediction looms over society’s collective head. End of the world predictions come and go, usually without too much attention. Francis Fukuyama uses the “end of history” phrase much differently. His prediction following the collapse of the Cold War was that the world would move towards liberal democracy, which would eventually be adopted by all States. He saw authoritarian regimes weakening in their ability to rule over their citizens, which would eventually rise up in democratic revolt. This didn’t mean the end of the world in an apocalyptic sense, but that the world would never be the same once all countries adopted democracy as their form of government.

With the (presumably) successful revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt, as well as ongoing democratic protests in Libya, Bahrain, and other Middle Eastern countries, I couldn’t help but be reminded of Fukuyama’s theory. Reports are that even one of the more stable authoritarian regimes, China, had to call on the military to squelch protestors. Indeed, people around the world are clamoring for the rights that a democratic government can offer them, and some governments are being forced to respond with new reforms. News reports of the latest revolutions are increasing by the day, and people around the world are embracing recent successes as a model for their own protests and revolutions.

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In South American integration literature there exists a puzzling divide between primary government sources and secondary analysis. On the one hand you have a series of regional declarations signed by the 12 presidents of South American nations stating their intent to form a new continental block and on the other you have a public that remains largely unconvinced and skeptical of the union’s long-term chances of success. The fundamental question seems to boil down to whether or not the nations of South America can overcome their traditional conflicts to achieve the goals of the new union.

A review of the government generated literature on the subject is overwhelmingly positive while a similar review of non-governmental literature is at best neutral. Why is there such a difference between the two observed positions?

It is our opinion that regional integration in South America is, at its most basic level, a reaction to the demands of the changing world order. It is a process remarkably similar to that proposed by early social contract theories, like Thomas Hobbes’, that contend that the organization of men into larger groups is a rational response to outside threats. The decision to form these groups occurs when they realize that they are stronger when they work together than when they operate separately. While the majority of the literature is skeptical of the success of this process, we believe that in one form or another, the forces of integration will be sufficient to overcome the barriers of history.

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