ABSTRACT
The chapter argues that Latin America IPE is an offshoot of the tradition of political economy and sociology, both with a longer tradition than International Relations in the region at large. The argument develops in five sections, beginning with a critical review of IPE field building in Latin America, its recurrent themes and questions, together with a description of its mixed nature at a crossroad between various scientific fields. In the second and third parts, we investigate the regional fabric of Latin American IPE, signalling the inter-generational significance of “center-periphery” as a conceptual device together with its evolution while providing the reader with a theoretical overview on what can be considered IPE in the Latin American context nowadays. Despite the academic consensus that dependencia was a foundational moment, it leads to a nostalgia for paradise lost that obliterates the quality and quantity of wider contributions. Ultimately, our purpose is to dispel nostalgia. This is what we do in the fourth and fifth parts, looking at the recent developments with legacies of the past profoundly reconfigured and finely rebranded hand in hand with various epistemic “turns”. Finally, we close with some reflections on prospects and options.
