Conference of American States

The Conference of American States (: Conferencia de los Estados Americanos, : Conférence des États Américains, : Konferenz der Amerikanische Länder), or the CAS or CEA, is a - union of 25 member states that are located primarily in. Covering an area of over 879,000 square miles (2,276,600 square kilometers) and with an estimated population of over 600 million people, it includes all of (with the exception of  and Mexico along with the dependent territories of external nations including ). The Conference of American States has a combined of $24 trillion, and if it were a sovereign state, be the largest economy in the world.

The CAS features an organized system of supranational institutions and standardized laws that apply to all member states. The institutions include the Parliament of American States, the American Council, the American Court of Justice, and the American Customs Authority. Within the St. Louis Area, border control between participating member states (, Brazoria, Canada, the Confederate States,, Sierra, and the United States) has been eliminated. The CAS features a with an overarching  among all member states. Members of the American Parliament are elected every four years by CAS citizens while members in the Conference's other institutions are appointed internally or by their member states.

Through common agreement and the Treaty of St. Louis, the CAS is enabled to power to protect basic human rights and to enact legislation concerning internal affairs and justice, and common policies on trade, agriculture, and the environment. Unlike its, there is no although there is  with a.

The CAS was created through the Treaty of St. Louis in 1946, following the conclusion of with the intention of creating an international union that would include all countries in the Americas. With most of objecting to a political union however (and with the alternative creation of the ), namely, in opposition to perceived dominance by the Anglo-speaking nations of North America, the CAS was initially founded with only four states: Brazoria, Canada, the Confederate States, and the United States. Over the years, membership expanded, with Sierra joining in 1965, and all of North America excluding Mexico by 2006. Since then, the possibility of expanding the CAS into South America as it was originally intended has been considered, with all of the South American states (excluding and ) an observer state of the CAS.

As a whole, the CAS has been treated as a supranational entity with some elements akin to that of a sovereign state. In the League of Nations and other organizations, the CAS represents itself alongside its own member states, although only as an observer state. In the LN, it has enhanced participation rights and status as an observer. Featuring some of the wealthiest and most politically developed nations, including the United States, the Conference of American States has been described as a world by its own right, due to its global influence.

History
Following victory of, American cooperation and integration was deemed necessary to unite the region against future, potential conflicts. Particularly harrowed by the rise of the, the American government, under the , sought to establish a "new order" that would comprise all the nations of the , dedicated towards mutual cooperation, assistance, and defense. At the 1945 New York Convention, the CAS' precursor organization, the American Integration Society (AIS) was founded, with the stated intention of establishing a union as desired by the Americans. The Convention's proposals were universally rejected by nations of Latin America, particularly due to the Spanish-speaking nations' fear of being dominated by their Anglophone neighbors. Bearing this in mind, the CAS would focus primarily on integrating the Anglophone region of North America, as opposed to all of the Americas. In 1946, through the Treaty of St. Louis, the CAS was formally established with four signatories: Brazoria, Canada, the Confederate States, and the United States.

During its infancy, the modern CAS institutions of the Parliament and Council were rudimentary, with the union's focus primarily geared towards economic cooperation through a. By the 1960s however, the CAS grew more organized, and many provisions of the Treaty of St. Louis were implemented, strengthening the institutions by allowing the Parliament to pass binding legislation, under the principle of. On the condition of membership, member states were obliged to follow policies passed by the Parliament under the supervision of the Council. In 1965, the Kingdom of Sierra and the Federative Republic of Alyeska joined as CAS' fifth and sixth members respectively, followed by, , the , and.

During the, the CAS was the forefront of the international stage, largely due to its most influential member, the United States, and its fellow CAS allies. The CAS led the "free", capitalist faction and collaborated intensively with its allies in Western Europe and Northeast Asia, and postured itself as a whole, against the and the rest of the.

Following the end of the Cold War, the CAS witnessed its expansion as additional states joined, including Hispanophone nations. In 1999,, , , , and joined. In 2000, the St. Louis Area was created, eliminating border control and visa requirements between Brazoria, the Bahamas, Canada, the Confederate States, Sierra, and the United States. In 2002,, the , , , and became CAS members. In 2006, the Conference of American States saw its most recent enlargement when, , and joined. In the wake of the 2008 economic crisis, the American Customs Authority was established to stabilize the CAS' economies as a single market, and had all member states' currencies pegged to the. In addition, it was afforded limited discretion on monetary policy as calls for a single currency similar to the was advocated for. In 2011, the CAS declared that its membership was now open to the nations of South America as well as dependencies of non-American nations through the Panama Accords, which required prospective nations and dependencies to have an economically developed, a government, and sufficient infrastructure. Since then, all nations under the new criteria aside from, , Mexico and have become observer states, with  and  elevated to candidate-status in 2012.

Future
Opening its membership up to South America, the CAS has intended to continue the process of political and economic integration of its member states. With Argentina and Colombia entered in candidate status, it is predicted that both will be accepted as members by 2020, becoming the largest countries to be accepted into the CAS since Sierra in 1965.

There have been plans among the member states of the CAS to expand the St. Louis Area, mainly among the Caribbean states. In addition, the CAS has been working towards standardized drug and energy policies. The CAS is also exploring the possibility of including mutual defense policy, increased military cooperation, and continuing its mission towards promoting "peace, democracy, and liberty" across the Americas and the world.