Historical antecedents and post-WWII regionalism in the Americas

This paper brings new evidence and argument to the debate on the emergence of multilateral regional security agreements after World War II, encapsulated in Hemmer and Katzenstein’s question, 'Why is there no NATO in Asia?' This discussion on regional orders has overlooked the experience of the inter-American system at the same historical conjuncture. The inter-American experience casts doubt on the generalizability of prominent explanations of regional formation.