Resumen

TORRIJOS RIVERA, Vicente  y  PEREZ CARVAJAL, Andrés. Rethinking Polarity Theory. An Approach to the Role of Colombia in Latin America. Rev. Cient. Gen. José María Córdova [online]. 2013, vol.11, n.11, pp.29-66. ISSN 1900-6586.

Analyzing the Colombian case represents a challenge for understanding power relationships in the international system. Given the limitations of a state like Colombia, classical approaches to polarity are insufficient, because they would overlook the particular characteristics that surround the participation of this agent of the Latin American regional system. If we keep in mind only the power resources recognized by Kenneth Niel Waltz (1988), most of the States in the American continent would eclipse Colombia, and it would not develop its participation recognized in practice. Therefore, treating the case of Colombia is a good reason to raise the necessary changes demanded by this polarity theory within the complex dynamics that currently surround the world order and the neorealist approach which dominated the International Relations discipline. The proposal developed here has a practical nature designed to frame the case study, based on a theoretical construct that seeks, based on the idea of power, the right way to approach the polarity. The paper is divided into five parts: (1) a description of the current state of the system; (2) an approach to the idea of power, neorealism of international relations and its application in the international system; (3) an analysis model for understanding power relationships among system agents; (4) an application of the model to the Colombian case, and to the Latin American context; and (5) conclusion.

Palabras clave : Polarity Theory; International Relations; Neorealism; Power Relationships.

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