The Geography of Partnerships in Latin American Climate NGOs and the Limits of South–South Cooperation

Abstract

ABSTRACT Post‐aid scholarship suggests cooperation among non‐state actors in middle‐income regions has become less Northern‐anchored and more geographically dispersed. At the same time, optimistic readings of polycentric climate governance imply that decentralisation may loosen North–South hierarchies. We test this optimism using a partnership network of 195 climate‐focused non‐governmental organisations across 21 Latin American and Caribbean countries. We find that slightly over half of all partnerships are domestic, while cross‐border ties remain dominated by Global North and multilateral actors. South–South cooperation is secondary and almost entirely regionally bounded, alongside strong domestic embeddedness and limited post‐hegemonic Southern diversification.