Reassessing Chilean international security

In this paper, I offer a neorealist interpretation of Chile’s pursuit of security in the Southern Andean Cone in Latin America. I challenge current liberal institutionalist interpretations to shed light on the mounting evidence suggesting Chile’s strong sense of interstate rivalry and competition for power with its regional neighbours. Since the turn of the century, relations with Peru and Bolivia are at a low considering the recent demands in The Hague over territorial bargaining, and, unlike the amicable bilateral relations that have developed recently with long-time rival Argentina, Chile’s interactions with Lima and La Paz reveal the use of purposeful alliances, military deterrence, and diplomatic means to balance each other’s strategic advantages. Against this backdrop, the paper provides with explanatory power to understand Chile’s overall mistrust of Latin America’s rebellious security scenario as it breaks through the theoretical ceiling of current Southern Cone international politics studies.