SOCIAL SECURITY IN LATIN AMERICA: THE IMPACT OF ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL CRISIS IN VENEZUELA ON THE INTEGRATION PROCESS AMONG SOUTH AMERICAN COUNTRIES, AND LESSONS FOR SERBIA

Dujić dr Ivan (Institut za međunarodnu politiku i privredu u Beogradu), ivan@diplomacy.bg.ac.rs

The intricate relations among countries nowadays cannot be grasped without including a general concept of security. In this context, the term ‘security’ acquires multiple meanings: it involves, among other things, the social aspect of contemporary relations. This paper considers the social aspect of security in Latin American countries. National integration process in the countries after the Cold War provided the basis for the sub-regional integration process. There has been obvious progress in the processes when Latin American countries decided to make social security an integral part of both processes. The modern development of social security at the turn of 21st century unfolds simultaneously in all these countries, which makes their mutual relations more complex. On the other hand, the economic and political crisis in Venezuela poses a challenge to the process of regional integration in the South American countries to withstand the crisis. From the Venezuela’s crisis and the regional integration process in South America, Serbia should draw lessons on how to become part of the European integration process.

Keywords: social security, Latin America, the process of national integration, the process of sub-regional integration, South America, Venezuela, Serbia