Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: The paper argues for the need to bridge the considerable theoretical and analytical divide that still exists between supporters of Comparative Political Economy (CPE) and International Political Economy (IPE). Using extensive empirical studies, conducted as part of my PhD, as a foundation for the theoretical arguments, the paper analyses the comprehensive and far-reaching organisational changes that have taken place on the domestic and regional level in relation to organised business interests in the Mercosur, the Southern Cone common market founded by Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay in 1991. By intertwining empirical analysis with theoretical interpretations and observations, the paper underlines the need for a theoretical approach to the study of organised business interests, which brings together CPE and IPE approaches. Consequently, the paper is organised around a set of three themes (the national, regional and global arena), in which empirical and theoretical analyses are combined. This takes into account theoretical approaches from both CPE and IPE in order to understand the ongoing changes in the organisation of business interests and the role they play on the national and regional level of governance under conditions of globalisation.