Politická a hospodářská integrace na západní polokouli

Abstract

The dissertation thesis focuses on political and economic integration in the Western Hemisphere. In the first part the paper compares two major regional trading blocs, North American Free Trade Agreement and Mercosur. Through the discourse and metaphor analysis shows differences between the respective blocs, as well as their objectives. Second part deals with US foreign policy in its historical context in relation to other nations within the region, and transformaton of this relationship into current policy of bilateral 4 free trade agreements. Discourse analysis of the key texts and revealed dominance metaphors suggest that the United States uses bilateral free trade agreements to maintain control over the region. Keywords USA, Mexico, Latin America, Western Hemisphere, NAFTA, Mercosur, bilateral free trade agreements, discourse analysis, metaphors, foreign policy, manifest destiny, integration