Applying Transnational Perspectives in Latin American Studies

This article advocates incorporating transnational perspectives in Latin American Studies research. It suggests that studying Latin American dynamics over the long run means considering the impact of transnational forces and processes that since political independence have linked Latin American societies beyond their particularity. Recognizing the transnational dimensions of their historical development, we may avoid falling into the error of assuming the existence of a fixed correlation between territorial residence, citizenship, and national identities, as if these dimensions of social life always converged and merged necessarily into one another. That is, in addition to approaching this multistate region within a country-by-country optic and from a comparative lens or in terms of international relations, the text claims that we should also address it from a transnational perspective. Only then would analysis fully account for the articulation of local and national dynamics with international and global dynamics. The article illustrates the relevance of this approach by identifying several areas of specific research where a long-term transnational angle of analysis is brought into focus.