Why do some countries cooperate more intensely with their regions in multilateral fora while other states prefer to go solo? Sizeable regional cohesion in world arenas is often taken for granted in studies over regional powers and their expected followership. However, correlations between conjunctural and institutional variables, on the one hand, and the degree to which leading regional powers articulate collective interests internationally, on the other, are still missing. Which drivers incite or inhibit the transposition of regional ties into broader multilateral platforms? We argue that the interplay between regional institutionalization and intervening political-economic crises produces a corresponding impact in collective output as formalized at the UN General Assembly each year. We test such hypotheses with regard to the cases of Brazil and South Africa and their respective neighborhoods.

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UN General Assembly,Regional Powers,Brazil,South Africa