ABSTRACT
This chapter disaggregates some of the complexities of the geographies of regionalisms and South–South cooperation (SSC) in Latin America-Caribbean while advancing a methodological critique of the dominant literature in this field of study. Based on a literature review, the chapter distinguishes between the dominant, ‘mainstream’ approach and a ‘critical’ approach. The ‘mainstream’ approach is critiqued for its underlying methodological territorialism and methodological nationalism, through which co-existing generations of regionalisms become deterministically construed as ideologically separate, incompatible and/or conflicting projects. By introducing human geography to the study of regionalisation processes, the chapter argues that a socio-spatial methodology in conjunction with a SSC analytical lens reveals far greater commonality, interrelatedness and convergence among different regionalisms in the geographical area than is commonly assumed. This is illustrated by the case of the Petrocaribe Economic Zone (Zona Económica Petrocaribe, ZEP) as a SSC space that traverses national and regionalist territorial boundaries. The conclusion maps out possible areas and case studies for the deployment of a socio-spatial methodology for research into South–South relations in Latin America-Caribbean.
