Congress and foreign policy in Chile : present situation and proposals

Abstract

This paper is a contribution to the search of ways of fortifying the participation of Congress in Chilean foreign policy. It systematizes recent literature relating to the roles and characteristics of the legislative power, makes comments on Chilean Congress and its operating procedures, intervention routines in foreign policy, strengths and weaknesses; it provides a concrete model of the European Union to be considered in the discussion and makes two proposals. The study updates the state of the debate in Chile by means of international literature, the opinion of specialized professionals (interviews, survey) and observations.