Agrifood structural power in emerging countries. Some structural limitations of international integration and cooperation regarding agrifood

Abstract

The article makes a brief analysis of the international positioning of the emerging countries of South America, particularly Argentina, from the relations of economic integration and cooperation regarding agrifood. To this end the concept of agrifood structural power is developed based on the notion of structural power of Susan Strange. This approach unlike the vision proposed by the liberal institutionalism of food regime enables to understand the dynamics of the international food system in its real dimension. The critical postulation at issue is that while the exploitation of agrifood commodities has generated conjunctural profits for emerging economies, the agrifood structural power due to asymmetric relations of integration and cooperation implies a peripheral and dependent position within global economy, thus coming to reinforce the configuration of the international structural power.