Fifteenth Global Studies Conference

Abstract

The rise of non-Western countries has triggered a lively debate on the emergence of a post-American world order, as the United States’ grip over international politics gradually loosens. Within this major transformation, China has emerged as the most credible candidate to undermine and challenge US dominance. After decades of intensive growth, Beijing is now considered capable of leveraging its massive global economic projection to gain influence and promote its strategic interests far beyond Asia. The study employs the South American case to verify empirically China’s alleged capacity to lure new partners through its economic leverage. In particular, the paper addresses whether a correlation exists between China’s economic penetration and South American states’ voting behavior in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) between 2002 and 2019. A theoretically guided casing will select a population of cases including those South American states that have a highly unbalanced economic and commercial relationship with China, as the literature generally suggests a strong linkage between economic asymmetry and political alignment between primary and secondary states (great powers-weaker states, etc.). The study then verifies if South American countries with high dependence display a higher degree of voting coincidence with China over i) all resolutions and ii) human-rights related resolutions. Finally, it tests whether more economically dependent South American states have stepped away to a greater extent from the United States in their voting patterns at the UNGA with regard to “important votes” as defined by the US Department of State.