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11. Nontraditional Security Threats in the U.S.-Mexico Bilateral Relationship: Overview and Recommendations

Author:
John Bailey
Publication Date:
01-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Wilson Center
Abstract:
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
Political Geography:
United States and Mexico

12. Challenges in Competitiveness: Infrastructure Development

Author:
Raul Rodriguez
Publication Date:
01-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Wilson Center
Abstract:
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
Political Geography:
United States and Mexico

13. No Illusions-Paradigm Shifting on Mexican Migration to the US in the Post- 9-11 World

Author:
T. Alexander Aleinikoff
Publication Date:
02-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Wilson Center
Abstract:
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
Political Geography:
United States and Mexico

14. A U.S.-Mexico Partnership in Energy- A Policy of Convenience

Author:
José Alberro
Publication Date:
01-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Wilson Center
Abstract:
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
Political Geography:
United States and Mexico

15. Security and Intelligence in US-Mexico Relations

Author:
Luis Herrera-Lasso M.
Publication Date:
12-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Wilson Center
Abstract:
The relationship between Mexico and the United States has been defined by the countries' shared border, their economic interaction (which has been growing since the signing of NAFTA), and by their common geopolitical arena.
Topic:
Security and Regional Cooperation
Political Geography:
United States and Mexico

16. US-Mexico Border Control in a Changing Economic and Security Context

Author:
Peter Andreas
Publication Date:
12-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Wilson Center
Abstract:
Although far from Washington and Mexico City, it is perhaps only a slight exaggeration to say that U.S.-Mexico relations begin and end at their shared 1,933-mile-long border. Indeed, the degree of harmony or conflict in the relationship increasingly depends on how the border and border control matters are politically managed. The border is both one of the busiest and one of the most heavily policed territorial lines in the world, where many of the most critical and sensitive issues in the bilateral relationship, such as trade, migration, and drug trafficking, come together. In fact, much of U.S. policy toward Mexico has been driven by the twin objectives of facilitating authorized border crossings and deterring unauthorized crossings. Balancing these tasks has always been politically and bureaucratically frustrating and cumbersome, but both the challenge and the stakes have grown substantially as counterterrorism has been added to and redefined the border control agenda since September 11, 2001.
Topic:
International Relations, Security, and Economics
Political Geography:
United States, Washington, and Mexico

17. La calidad del ciudadano. Past and Present. The Nature of Citizenship in Mexico and the United States- 1776-1912

Author:
Erika Pani
Publication Date:
07-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Wilson Center
Abstract:
Mexico's transition to democratic rule has triggered much debate about the legacies of the past under which Mexicans must labor. Mexico is seen as emerging from a monolithic, murky and only rarely interrupted authoritarian past, from the Aztec tlatoanis to the PRI. Mexican “political culture” is seen as both the underlying principle and the creature of this historical experience. Some characterize Mexicans as lacking democratic values, with no electoral culture and with their families structured along patriarchic and authoritarian lines. Ironically, this approach, which tries to explain the present by understanding the past, is blatantly unhistorical. It speaks of static, eternal core values, of an unchanging México Profundo that has supposedly lurked inside every Mexican through the ages regardless of class or regional origin. Thus, writes one scholar, “behind an image of modernity and values, lies hidden the arithmetic relationship of dominion and subordination.” The trappings of a modern society barely cover one that is deeply traditional, whose real values and practices are rooted in “the ancient Mesoamerican civilizations.”
Topic:
International Relations, Security, and Regional Cooperation
Political Geography:
United States and Mexico