Description
This paper seeks to contribute to the field of regional environmental governance by advancing our understanding of the relationship between the governance of transboundary natural resources and regionalism. Theoretically, it is based on the New Regionalism Approach which regards regions as socially constructed through dynamic and multidimensional processes involving a wide range of actors and interactions on a variety of issues. Through this lens the paper examines the puzzling case of the pulp mill conflict which escalated between Argentina and Uruguay during the 2000s when the outlook for regionalism was in many ways favorable. Based on interviews with 24 key informants from civil society organizations and regional institutions, participant observation, and civil society reports the paper traces how the conflict evolved from a shared environmental concern to a national cause. Situating the analysis of the conflict in the wider context of regionalism and natural resource governance in South America drawing on Latin American studies and transboundary water governance leads to two key findings which are important for strengthening the research agendas of regional environmental governance and comparative regionalism. First, natural resource governance is an important, but often overlooked arena of regionalization which may help to account for variations in regionalism in the world. Second, it is also highly contested and sustainability concerns are at the core of these contestations. Diverging priorities over natural resource governance between governments and civil society can be an important obstacle to regional cohesion.
