Is Regionalism Still a Viable Option for the Creation and Maintenance of Peace and Security in Latin America?

Latin America is, at the same time, one of the most peaceful regions in terms of military conflicts, whilst being the most dangerous in terms of criminal violence, as well as being home to the world’s longest-running civil conflict in Colombia. Regionalism has been seen as a way of addressing this changing security panorama, Latin America being, after Europe, the region which has most experimented with regionalism in the world. However, the stagnation of regional initiatives in Latin America has put a question mark over the role regionalism can play in the resolution of problems of security which are mainly seen as domestic concerns. Taking Central America and the Colombian conflicts as case studies, the chapter asks whether regionalism is still a viable resolution strategy and how organizations like the Organization of American States (OAS) will need to adapt their approach in relation to regional security problems in order to stay relevant.