This article investigates whether the overlapping of intergovernmental regional organizations in Latin America with regard to membership and mandate is harmful or beneficial to regional cooperation (with a special focus on mediation in domestic and international conflicts). The article begins by systematizing the discussion about the possible risks and potential benefits of overlapping regional organizations, and then outlines hypotheses that can be tested in concrete episodes of overlap of action. The article then analyzes nine episodes in which an overlap of action has occurred between two Latin American organizations, the Organization of American States (OAS) and the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR). The results of the study are mixed. However, the effects of overlapping seem to be much less problematic than a large body of literature generally assumes.

中文翻译：

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拉丁美洲重叠区域组织的成本和收益：OAS 和 UNASUR 的案例

本文调查拉丁美洲政府间区域组织在成员资格和职责方面的重叠是否对区域合作有害或有益（特别关注国内和国际冲突的调解）。本文首先系统地讨论了重叠区域组织的可能风险和潜在利益，然后概述了可以在行动重叠的具体事件中检验的假设。然后，本文分析了美洲国家组织 (OAS) 和南美洲国家联盟 (UNASUR) 这两个拉丁美洲组织之间发生重叠行动的九个事件。研究结果好坏参半。然而，