The Coquimbo Region as an International Actor: aspirations and critical issues

Abstract

The following case study analyses the performance of the Regional Unit for International Affairs of the IV Coquimbo Region, a territory that has benefitted from an active display of decentralized cooperation instruments, evincing a deepening of both actors and courses of action in the international system. Based on a theoretical-conceptual analysis to understand the subnational prominence abroad, the study will inquire about the institutional factors as well as the actors that manage the international insertion at the regional level. Due to the weak autonomy of non-central governments and the centralization of administrative capacities regarding foreign affairs, a reflection is made on the critical issues that obstruct the URAI's functions necessary to fulfill the guidelines for the current regional government's internationalization (2014-2018).