Foreign Policy Change in Latin America: Exploring a Middle Range Concept

Abstract

In this article we examine patterns of change and continuity in Latin American foreign policies. We do so by asking two interrelated questions: How can we conceptually and empirically account for foreign policy change? And why do states change their foreign policies in Latin America? To answer these questions, we used the results of a new expert survey on foreign policy preferences in the region between 1980 and 2014. The results we obtained using both linear and non-parametric specifications are very clear and consistent: presidential institutions and ideology are what matters the most.