“Evolving Regionalismos: Latin American Regions in the 21st Century”

Regional Development Dialogue, Spring 2012 Issue

How are regions being conceptualized in Latin America as we advance into the second decade of the 21st century? For this volume, Regional Development Dialogue (RDD) seeks papers that grapple with the different ways in which the region–as a subnational and yet supramunicipal space–is being articulated in the Latin American context. The notion of region is by no means a new concept; for decades, academics, policy-makers, and citizens across the globe have been interested in regions­­ as key spaces for governance, planning, economic development, competitiveness, socio-political struggle, resource management, or environmental protection. Yet, throughout this rich history, regional experiments have privileged specific sets of agendas, practices, and institutions.

This issue of RDD is especially interested in articles that analyze the possibilities and challenges of emerging regional schemes of collaboration in Latin America in the 21st century by focusing on the key actors and agendas driving these initiatives. The articles will conceptualize 21st century Latin America as a fertile stage for innovative regional arrangements. Ultimately, the objective is to develop a debate that combines diverse viewpoints sustained by solid empirical research and fresh theoretical approaches. The aim is to generate a debate among practitioners, policy-makers, civil society and academics on the different articulations of the region and regional development emerging from contemporary Latin American experiences.

Examples of relevant discussions include, but are not limited to:

•                Regional spaces of governance and planning

•                Public-private partnerships at the regional level

•                Regions and economic development

•                Regional resilience

•                Regions and social movements

•                Regions and citizen participation

•                Regions and transportation infrastructure

•                Regions and climate change

•                Regions and food sovereignty

Deadline for abstract: November 30, 2011

Please send your articles and/or questions to the RDD Spring 2012 guest editors:

Sergio Montero (smontero@berkeley.edu) and Oscar Sosa (oscarsosa@berkeley.edu).

Regional Development Dialogue (RDD) is a leading international journal publishing high quality articles on topics of immediate practical interest to those involved in regional development. Each RDD issue is devoted to a specific theme related to regional development and is edited by a guest editor. Articles submitted for this issue can be written in English, Spanish, or Portuguese. Articles submitted in Spanish and/or Portuguese will be translated and published in English.

Authors must ensure that their manuscripts are original, unpublished works that are not being submitted for publication in other journals or books. Also, authors are responsible for the accuracy of facts and opinions expressed in their respective articles. The length of articles should be between 6,000 and 8,000 words, with a 300-word abstract. The journal is black and white, with no color reproduction. Maps and other figures should, as far as possible, be camera-ready for printing. Photographed images cannot be published. Authors are furthermore requested to refer to the UNCRD Styleguide (pdf) when preparing papers.