Transnational Corporations: A Meeting Point for the International Political Economy of Latin America

The study of transnational corporations (TNCs) lies at the origin of the international political economy (IPE) field in Latin America. However, the preponderant place of TNCs in the new configurations of international economic governance has not been systematically explored in recent IPE research in the region. The article makes the case for the importance of exploring the implications of TNCs in economic governance and to engage with the debates and contributions that have remained on the margins of the EPI framework.To do so, we reviewed the place of TNCs in the processes of the construction of rules and practices of international governance in the areas of trade/ investment and the environment. The argument is that TNCs are not only economic actors, but also "political" actors that interzone in the process of reconfiguring the state-market-nature relationships through the construction of new economic governance arrangements. The article contributes to an ongoing reflection on the identity of EPI in Latin America as a field under construction.