A recent article published in The Economist was based on Emmanuel Macron's opinion on what would be the most advisable strategy for joint work among the countries of the EU to harness the opportunities open to them in the current international scenario.

Although it refers to Europe, it raises a debate that has many precedents in different regions. Moreover, everything indicates that it will remain an ongoing valid debate, especially in the political and business spheres, both in theory and in practice.

The idea of economic integration between countries belonging to the same geographical region, within the framework of the multiple options presented to them for the development of strategies for their international integration, is one of the topics which is increasingly attracting the attention of practitioners and specialists in the academic and political spheres.

The fundamental question most often asked is: What are the best strategies and methodologies that should be adopted by countries in the same region wishing to cooperate and take advantage of the opportunities offered to them by the current international scenario?

It is a question that has been valid at different times in many geographic regions, as European and Latin American history shows. In particular, it is today a fundamental question in the analysis of the future development of the European Union. In this regard, it is worth reviewing the article in The Economist of May 2, which reflects this central debate (Edward Carr, Deputy Editor: 'A region in mortal danger. Emmanuel Macron's urgent message for Europe. The French president issues a dark and prophetic warning'. We recommend reading Macron's text in English and especially the full text in French.)

In concrete terms, it is a matter of placing an issue that is central to our country and to other countries in Latin America in the perspective of the profound changes that are currently taking place in the international environment and, above all, in global economic competition. Moreover, these changes remind us that, in the past, the profound changes that led to shifts in world power and, ultimately, to war, have often been closely linked.

Today we are facing a global systemic crisis that seems to recreate the classic historical tension between order and anarchy in international relations. We have referred to this issue on several occasions in the past. It is a tension that manifests itself in difficulties in finding effective responses to collective problems confronted on a global scale. And it can create systemic problems within countries that have been, and will continue to be, important players in the international system. These are also problems that can undermine citizens' confidence in the capacity of their governments.

As we have noted on other opportunities, there are three necessary conditions for the strategy to be followed by each of the countries concerned. These are:

a) Institutional quality, which means developing the capacity to articulate the various social interests in a stable way, so as to be able to translate the agreed objectives into realities and effective behavior;

b) That the enterprises of each country can develop offensive strategies resulting from a vocation for active participation in international markets, based on an updated diagnosis of the opportunities offered to their own capacity to produce goods and provide services in other markets; and

c) Coordinating efforts at regional level with countries sharing a similar geographical area, relative conditions and interests, e.g. food producers or energy exporters. This requires greater coordination between countries sharing a region or sub-region, both in drawing up the relevant and necessary diagnoses and in developing strategies for common action to respond to the challenges and opportunities that arise.

What seems clear is that a situation such as the one that is opening up in the current global international scenario requires countries like ours to adopt attitudes and policies that allow us to capitalise on past experiences and adopt integration strategies, objectives and methodologies that are adapted to the new realities of the country and the world (see our article 'Integración regional e inserción internacional de América Latina en un mundo de múltiples opciones', in the book 'La agenda internacional de América Latina: entre nuevas y viejas alianzas' by Wollrad; Maihold and Mols, published in Buenos Aires by Nueva Sociedad; SWP and Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, 2011).

Recommended reading:

• Aballe, Guada, "Figueroa Alcorta. El hombre de los tres poderes", Olmo Ediciones, Buenos Aires, 2013.
  
• Bircher, Marisa, "No podemos permitirnos cuatro años más de un Mercosur estático", Foreign Trade Supplement, La Nación newspaper, 2 May, 2024, p.7.
  
• Castro, Jorge, "China ofrece al Mercosur una opción frente al pacto con la UE",Clarín newspaper, Rural Section, 20 June 2024, p.24.
  
• Confucius, "Entretiens du Maitre avec ses disciples", Translated from Chinese by Séraphin Couvreur, Editions Mille et Une Nuits, April 1997.
  
• Peña, Félix, "La estrategia de América Latina en un mundo de múltiples opciones", Foreign Trade Supplement, La Nación newspaper, 25 April, 2024, p.3.
  
• Peña, Marcos, "El arte de subir (y bajar) la montaña", Siglo Veintiuno Editores, Buenos Aires, 2024.
  
• Taiana, Francisco A., "Argentina, China y el mundo (1945-2022)", Universidad Nacional de Quilmes, Bernal, 2022.
  
• Tellis, Ashley, "India's arduous road to achieving its great power ambition", East Asia Forum, 21 April 2024, www.eastasiaforum.org.
  
• Vieira Posada, Edgar; Peña, Félix, (Editores), "La covid-19 y los cambios en la integración latinoamericana y europea", Colección GRIDALE, Ediciones Universidad Cooperativa de Colombia, Bogotá, 2021.