Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center
Abstract:
The late Michael Leifer's association with an insecurity-focused realist approach to international affairs and his work on Southeast Asian regionalism inspire this question: How have the Asian financial crisis and the 'war on terror' affected the plausibility of insecurity-concerned realism compared with other ways of approaching regionalism in Southeast Asia?
The security and well-being of its citizens stand at the very pinnacle of any government's responsibilities. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, the futures of Canada, Mexico, and the United States are shared as never before. As a result, all three countries face a historic challenge: Do they continue on the path of cooperation in promoting more secure and more prosperous North American societies or do they pursue divergent and ultimately less secure and less prosperous courses? To ask the question is to answer it; and yet, if important decisions are not pursued and implemented, the three countries may well find themselves on divergent paths. Such a development would be a tragic mistake, one that can be readily avoided if they stay the course and pursue a series of deliberate and cooperative steps that will enhance both the security and prosperity of their citizens.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Economics, and Regional Cooperation
When the leaders of Canada, Mexico, and the United States meet in Texas on March 23, they will be representing countries whose futures are shared as never before.U.S. trade with Mexico and Canada accounts for almost one-third of total U.S. trade. U.S. trade with its North American neighbors substantially exceeds its trade with the European Union, and with Japan and China combined. In the energy sector, Canada and Mexico are now the two largest exporters of oil to the United States. Canada alone supplies the United States with over 95 percent of its imported natural gas and 100 percent of its imported electricity. In 2005, the borders between Canada, Mexico, and the United States will be crossed almost 400 million times.
Topic:
International Relations, Government, and Regional Cooperation
Political Geography:
United States, Japan, China, Canada, North America, and Mexico
Anja H. Ebnöther, Ernst M. Felberbauer, and Martin Malek
Publication Date:
04-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Austrian National Defence Academy
Abstract:
After the collapse of the Soviet Union the five Central Asian former Soviet Republics (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan) appeared as one region. Though it is scientifically debatable if “Central Asia” consists of only these five stat es or if others should be included as well (e.g. Afghanistan, Mongolia), my findings will basically deal with the five former Soviet Central Asian republics – sometimes, where appropriate, with references to adjacent countries.
Topic:
Regional Cooperation, Terrorism, and International Security
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, Middle East, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Asia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan
Before September 11, 2001, security—primarily, anti-drug trafficking efforts—ranked among the top two or three issues in Mexico-U.S. relations. Since that day, security has dominated the U.S. policy agenda in foreign affairs, including the bilateral agenda. Mexico, which had put more emphasis on migration reform, has accepted the new reality as defined by the United States. This background paper identifies some of the more pressing nontraditional security threats in the U.S.-Mexico bilateral relationship and suggests recommendations to address them. Inevitably somewhat U.S.-centric, my approach is to cover a good deal of ground in broad-brush strokes, providing only enough detail to buttress the main points and illustrate the recommendations.
Topic:
International Relations, Security, and Regional Cooperation
Cross-border cooperation between the U.S. and Mexico in infrastructure development has been the topic of a vast number of conferences, discussion groups and reports for quite some time. But actual cooperation pales in comparison to the dramatic strides achieved in economic and business links between both countries.
Topic:
International Relations, Economics, Poverty, and Regional Cooperation
The U.S.-Mexican immigration relationship has never been good. For most of their histories, the two countries have determined policy unilaterally despite a multitude of interconnections and a shared border of thousands of miles. The willful refusal to recognize common interests, the ability to pretend that sound policies can be crafted in isolation, is remarkable—and deeply counterproductive. Hopes for a “grand bargain” under the leadership of Presidents Fox and Bush faded quickly after the events of September 11, 2001. There may be a time in the future when such an agenda might be fruitfully pursued—and Andrés Rozental's pa per makes eminently sensible suggestions as to the elements that might constitute a grand bargain. But at the moment, at least on the U.S. side, policy development is viewed primarily—if not exclusively—as a matter of domestic politics and legislation. Interestingly, however, the debate on the American side may well play out in terms that are compatible with the elements of a “grand bargain.” I will argue that this result is due to shifting paradigms in the understanding of the U.S.-Mexican relationship: the Bush Administration's immigration proposals show movement away from a paradigm of control and toward one of a hemispheric labor market.
Topic:
International Relations, Security, and Regional Cooperation
Four years have come and gone in the Mexico-US relationship since the almost simultaneous inaugurations of Presidents Bush and Fox. The optimism bred by their first auspicious meetings has given way to aloofness and/or irritation in the post 9/11 era. Indeed, for some in the United States, Porfirio Díaz's dictum should be turned on its head to state “poor United States, so far away from God and so close to Mexico.” The fact remains that geography is destiny. Moreover, in the post-9/11, post-PRI environment, Mexico and the United States have complementary needs that could become the foundation of a policy of convenience and be the basis for a commitment to further strengthen their long- term economic ties.
Topic:
International Relations, Security, and Regional Cooperation
Security and Sovereignty: Renewing NORAD is the third publication in the Canada Institute's One Issue,Two Voices series. Using expertise from both sides of the Canada–U.S. border, this series is the Institute's contribution to dialogue on policy issues relevant to the bilateral relationship. The focus of this paper is the upcoming NORAD renewal negotiation process.
Although every Latin American government pays lip service to integration, taking the concrete steps needed to attain it is much more difficult than simply issuing declarations. In the wake of the collapse of the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas (FTAA), Latin America faces the dilemma of remaining divided and at the mercy of the interests of the great powers, or setting out on the road to continental unity. Even if the forces in favor of integration prevail, the type of integration to be constructed remains to be defined.
Topic:
Government, International Trade and Finance, and Regional Cooperation