Varieties of Economic Nationalism: Latin America and Europe

Theories of economic nationalism have shaped development policies throughout the twentieth century, both in Latin America and in Europe. As Joseph J. Love showed in his 1996 book, Crafting the Third World, economic nationalism theories first discussed in the 1930s in Central Europe influenced the development debate in Latin America after World War II This chapter will build on Love’s insight to show how the interwar debate in Central Europe influenced development policies not only in Latin America, but also in Southern Europe. Many important similarities can be traced between visions of development in Latin America and Southern Europe. At the same time, this chapter will show how the postwar development debates in Latin America and Southern Europe emphasized different aspects of the economic theories they shared as a common basis. Whereas Latin American postwar development theories emphasized the nationalistic dimension in a center/periphery framework, Southern European countries privileged trade openness and international economic embeddedness. These differences were brought about by the different historical and institutional evolution of the two regions. In particular, the new Cold War order confirmed Europe’s role at the center of the international economic landscape, and placed Latin America at its periphery.