Two to tango: 200 years of Argentina’s diplomatic relations

Hi, this is Guillermina. I work as a product specialist at Datawrapper – and if you ever attended one of our public webinars, we’ve also run into each other there. Today, I’m taking a quick dive into Argentina’s diplomatic history. Let’s tango!

Between 1811 and 2023, Argentina signed a total of 8,260 bilateral treaties with other countries around the globe, averaging approximately 39 treaties per year.

For a long time in the 19th and early 20th century, Argentina didn't sign many treaties, and World Wars I and II brought treaty activity almost to complete a halt. Things picked up significantly in the postwar era.

However, significant events like the Falklands War in 1982 and Argentina's economic crisis in the early 2000s (triggered by a lethal cocktail of government spending and an unsustainable currency policy that ultimately led the country to unilaterally stop payments on its international debt) caused noticeable dips in treaty activity. This default severely impacted Argentina's international standing. (A similar scenario unfolded again in 2014).

More than 50% of treaties are with other countries in the Americas, highlighting Argentina’s strong connections within the region — particularly with Chile, which accounts for 17% of these agreements, mostly related to borders and cooperation. After the Americas comes Europe with 2,354 treaties. There were fewer treaties with countries in Asia and Oceania (696) or Africa and the Middle East (591), reflecting Argentina's historically less intensive diplomatic engagement with those regions.

International relationships matter. Whether it's negotiating tricky border issues with Chile or navigating global economic turbulence, each treaty represents an effort toward cooperation. After all, diplomacy — much like tango — requires two sides moving together. It hasn't always been smooth, but Argentina’s experience reminds us that the best steps forward are usually taken together.

That's it for me this week! If you have any favorite diplomatic anecdotes or insights into Argentine history, I'd love to know about them. Next week you'll hear from Pascal with another exciting Weekly Chart!