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This paper explores the challenges and opportunities of regionalization and globalization in the context of North America vis a vis Latin America. While many argue that North America is the best example of integration, the results are not evenly spread and the resistance increasing. Canada, Mexico and the United States may agree in some areas but disagree in many as well and the relation of the bloc with the rest of the continent is definitely an issue to solve since Mexico belongs to both regional frameworks. This paper at the end presents scenarios for the further integration and their parameters for the relationship with Latin America, as well analyses the reasons of the current state of affairs and oportunities with the current administration. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper will explore some of the general political and economic dynamics of contemporary border management in North America from a comparative perspective. It operates both in terms of some basic policy analysis but mostly offers commentary on theoretical and research approaches to these issues. The paper will take as its framework the events of September 11, 2001 and the subsequent actions by some national governments around the world to reinforce their borders (re‐territorialization). In this regard, the paper pays particular attention to the issue of securitization of borders and mobility, both at the state's frontiers and within it, as a method of counter‐terrorism policy, migration control, and for other exclusionary ends. The securitization process will be traced through several key examples, particularly in North America and Europe. While noting the emergence of new forms of border management such as cross‐border policing in the European Union and bi‐lateral border management in North America, it will also acknowledge the persistence of more traditional border control efforts in many parts of the globe—particularly in the developing world—which are generally less technologically‐driven and often are much less strict as they deal with different security concerns. As such, the paper argues the emerging politics of border management remains differentiated and complex. The paper surveys several of the more interesting conceptual attempts to describe what is going on. To add my voice to this dialogue, I suggest that in order to have more meaningful and robust analysis of these developments, border scholarship needs to move beyond the de/re‐territorializing duality and consider a hierarchy of border security threats. Given the complexity of this picture, the paper ends by calling for a reinvigorated interdisciplinary approach to research on border security. I also suggest we need to think in terms of "risk management" rather than traditional "border security" as such. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The most contentious and critical questions of contemporary times relate to the nature, scope and impact of globalisation. Even though the notion of globalisation emerged from the domain of sociology, the intensified impact of globalisation and the acceptance that it is a contemporary social reality has manifested itself noticeably in a variety of disciplines. Since traditionally, International Relations deals with international political and economic organisation, global issues of conflict, governance, development, the environment, etc, it would appear to be the logical disciplinary lens to understand globalisation. However, the inherently multidimensional processes of globalisation demands new insights. The resultant rise of Global Studies approach is expected to be unencumbered by dominant perspectives and existing academic loyalties by placing global theorising and issues first. Therefore, in addition to the social science disciplines, GS is relevant for scholars in communication studies, ethics, art history, media studies, geography, and environmental studies, among others - subjects which were never designed to deal with global or even international realities. In light of this context the paper will have two main objectives: Firstly, to try to find an answer to what should constitute a well rounded programme of global studies. Secondly, despite the large number of centres for area-studies and academic units dealing with thematic issues of international affairs and globalisation there are very few centres of -Global Studies’ outside North America. Hence, the paper will also examine why this is as an overwhelmingly North American development and what are some possible means to bridge the wide regional divide. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the paper is to analyze genesis of energy policy of Russian Federation towards the main consumers of Russian oil â€" leading economies of the European Union, North America and Pacific Rim. Since 2000 this policy of driven of a combination of political and economic reasons.The idea of the paper is to present existing Russian strategy of relations with Western energy companies and governments as combination of strategic aims (equal status in global politics and economy) and short-term tactics (electoral interests of different players in Russian energy sector, rivalry between regions and companies for control of energy markets of Russia, CIS countries and some other countries). The special emphasis in the paper will be given to natural gas sector of Russian economy and role of the GAZPROM in opening Western markets for investments of Russian energy giants. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Private regulation is a central part of global environmental governance. Ample studies have pointed at the marketization of environmental policy and the contemporary reliance on private actors to deliver environmental improvements. Through voluntary codes of conduct, corporations increasingly order nature-society relations in areas where governments do not. In this paper we examine private verification of greenhouse gas emission reductions as a political practice in global climate governance. Although the standard-setting practices of independent auditing companies shape the organisation of the global carbon market, they have been subject to surprisingly little scholarly attention. Our paper examines the role of third-party verification and validation in the regulated CDM market, where authority is delegated from states to private auditors through an accreditation process supervised by the CDM Executive Board. We contrast these state authorized practices with verification in the voluntary carbon market where, in the absence of state regulation, private actors produce the rules (codes and standards) for “good climate performance”. While there are clear differences between mandatory and voluntary verification, we argue that both types of practices epitomize “governing at a distance” and the prominence of private auditing firms as bearers of governmentality. The overall significance of verification in the global carbon market is the transformation of emission reductions (relative to a baseline) into credits that can be bought and sold. Hence, practices of verification enable both state regulated and voluntary “carbon offsetting” that justifies current emission levels in the industrialized world. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the conference paper "Leaders and Laggards? Comparing European and North American Approaches to Non-State Environmental Governance" presented at the "46th International Studies Association Conference" held from March 2 to 6, 2005 in Honolulu, Hawaii. The paper discloses the differences within Europe and North America regarding the emergence of non-state market driven in the forest sector known as forest certification. It also reviews the historical development of forest certification in Finland.

This paper examines a range of women’s movements as the basis for mapping their strategies vis-à-vis states. Relying on the secondary literatures on selected women’s movements in Latin America, North America and West Europe, the paper investigates strategic dimensions of 1) insider v. outsider position; 2) separatist v. coalitional stance; and 3) movement autonomy v. state involvement. Two factors are identified as potentional influences upon women’s movements’ strategic behaviors: the context of movement emergence and anticipation of state reconfiguration. The paper concludes with a schema for testing hypotheses concerning women’s movements’ strategic action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Title: North American Security Perimeter and its Implications for North American Community One of the outcomes of the terrorist attacks of September 11 was the reexamination by Canada, the U.S. and Mexico of their security/border policies. The security concerns prompted the North American countries to adopt Smart Border policies and even consider the idea of a North American Security Perimeter (NASP) as a way of dealing with future security threats (Hristoulas, 2002). However, despite the fact that the idea of a NAPS has begun to float around official circles in Ottawa, Mexico City, and Washington D.C all three countries have yet to elaborate their vision of perimeter and what it would entail. The U.S. called for examination of a NASP right after September 11. President Bush ordered various departments to begin negotiating with Canada and Mexico to ensure increased compatibility of immigration, customs and VISA policies. This paper will examine the concept of North American Security Perimeter and its implications for the idea of a North American community and North American integration. Discussions around the border focus around whether borders in North America should look like a traditional border and operate as a dividing line between countries or whether the physical border should be shifted away from North America. But beyond this vague and ambiguous definition of the perimeter concept, the countries of North America have yet to move on the idea. This paper will first, examine the idea of a NAPS and what it means to each country. Second, this paper will explore barriers associated with moving towards a NASP such as the bilateralism inherent in the trilateral relationship, sovereignty concerns displayed by Canada and Mexico and U.S. unilateral decision-making. Finally, the paper will analyze the implications of perimeter for the idea of a North American community and whether it can lead to the development of a genuine community or whether it will just perpetuate the current asymmetries in the trilateral relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the current majority of critical infrastructures in private hands and the responsibility for civil protection and emergency preparedness in public hands in most countries, public-private partnerships (PPPs) are essential for meeting contemporary threats. Following large-scale terrorist attacks in recent years, critical infrastructure protection schemes are becoming institutionalised in not only many countries but increasingly in regional and international bodies such as the EU, NAFTA, and APEC, many in direct response to the new threats to infrastructure terrorism is deemed to pose. Attributed largely to the threat of terrorism to critical infrastructures, meetings and decision-making regarding critical infrastructures are frequently closed to the public. In the United States for example, information sharing is governed under the Protected Critical Infrastructure Information (PCII) Program. 'Need to know' information-sharing is intended to not only reduce vulnerability to terrorism but to facilitate information-sharing from the private sector, which has at times been reticent to disclose sensitive information. This paper argues that PPPs for critical infrastructure protection are increasingly regional or international, rendering the term somewhat of a misnomer as local publics are often disengaged from the process, both by locality and by the fact that PPPs take place in increasingly exclusive domains. Questions of accountability are raised, following the observation that both political and corporate processes are increasingly exempt from public scrutiny. Further, corporate owners and operators of critical infrastructure - often multinational - are accountable to shareholders rather than an electorate, and privileged positions in regional PPPs can entail an advantage in terms of political influence as well as over other smaller business interests. The Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) of North America is couched in terms of increasing liberalisation and trade and security. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the development of regional greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions trading schemes in North America. Specifically, it focuses on the creation of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) and the Western Climate Initiative (WCI), which incl ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While it is presented as in the best interest of the general public, the current process of deep integration in North America is in fact pushed by a political coalition of business representatives, government officials, civil society organizations and members of academia. This narrow, selective coalition speaks with one voice and tries to keep other actors outside the process. Generally supported by the federal executives in the three countries, this coalition is driving a process of "evolution by stealth" aimed at streamlining the institutional framework for doing business throughout the continent.Tracking the corporate connections of the top companies in the US, Canada and Mexico we will show that country distinctions are secondary when identifying the actors pushing for deep integration.NAFTA has already largely integrated North American networks of production, investment and distribution, making the economic and political interests of the top business groups in North America converge. One critical outcome of NAFTA has been the progression consolidation of North American business class. This transnational business class is the backbone of support to deep integration beyond economic matters, and it is behind political, social, academic and media proponents of a tightly integrated North America. Borders matter to this group only to the extent they provide competitive advantages to business operations. Otherwise, from this group's perspective, borders may as well disappear. This is precisely what deep integration aims at institutionalizing.From an international political economy perspective, this paper will track some existing connections within the corporate elite in North America; in order to provide evidence of the emergence of a transnational North American business class. It will show how members of this group are interdependent, their interests converging in similar directions. Moreover, it will show there is a great deal of overlap between large business in the three countries, and this situation is constantly accentuated with mergers and acquisitions that increase ownership concentration. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper makes three arguments about the changing nature of contingency planning and crisis management geared towards protecting critical infrastructure (water, utilities, telecommunications, etc) in western democracies. First, a shift from primarily within-state, and public responses to contingency planning and crisis management is taking place whereby planning and management are increasingly addressed in public/private cooperation, and increasingly at a regional level, in for example European and North America-spanning fora. Second, the threat of terrorism, addressed in prevailing all-hazards approaches to contingency planning and crisis management, has a dominant status respective other threats (such as major storms), achieving what can be seen as a paradigm-shaping role in these public/private and increasingly regional and even international milieu. Indeed the threat of terrorism is the argument currently forwarded for increasing critical infrastructure protection. Finally and consequently, the shift to public/private, to regional/supranational levels, and the paradigm-shaping status of the threat of terrorism have implications for accountability, openness and transparency, as well as for economy, safety and security - at the local to the supranational level. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses two key issues. One is whether since 9/11, a gap has formed in the Canada-US (CANUS) North American defense and security partnership. The second concerns the future role of Canada in this relationship in light of the new mutual national security issues that have emerged since September 2001. The article traces the historical evolution of this strategic collaborative alliance from 1940 to present, and highlights Canada's response to this perceived gap. As part of this examination two key factors emerged that could affect Canada's future role in defense of the North America. The first is the atrophy of the Canadian armed forces since the end of the Cold War. The second is the establishment of U.S. Northern Command in October 2002. Canadians see this unilateral move on the part of the US as presenting a challenge to their future role in defense of the continent because it calls into question the utility of the 49 year old North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) Agreement. In addition, the swift unilateral action taken by the US caught the Canadian government by surprise, and that its inaction, due to its inability to overcome long-standing anxieties related to its national sovereignty, put a large strain on its relationship with the United States. The article proposes that greater understanding between the partners, linked to the nurturing of trust, will go a long way in bridging the gap that has formed within this long-standing defense and security relationship. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The formulation of foreign policy is vital in order to define Mexico's participation within the world scenario. This paper studies Mexico's role in the North American region during Vicente Fox's term. Given the analyzed variables, a trilateral approach is privileged albeit recognizing USA's importance for Mexico's insertion in the region. Throughout this study, known foreign policy lines for the region are studied while some others are introduced. Mexico's presence in the world is an obligatory condition for this country to achieve favorable economic, cultural, political and diplomatic development. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Female sex trafficking flows display an intricate web of networks that connect most countries of the world as source, destination or transit points. Based on the three "P"s (Prevention, Protection of victims and Prosecuion of traffickers) identified by the United Nations Protocol on Trafficking of 2000, attempts have been made by several countries to adopt anti-sex trafficking policies. In this paper we focus on two high destination regions represented by North America and the EU (Europe) and two major source regions represented by SAARC (South Asia) and ASEAN (Southeast Asia) in order to critically review how gender, politics and forces of globalization influence not only the shaping of anti-sex trafficking policies, but also their succes/failures in implementing anti-sex trafficking measures. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mexico's 2000 transition to democracy seemed to signal the final demise of seven decades of single-party rule and the advent of truly competitive politics. At the same time, it appeared that the deep restructuring toward a market economy under the auspices of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was finally beginning to pay off in terms of growth, investment, and a slight upturn in distributional gains. However, the country's 2003 mid-term elections told a rather different story: the incumbent PAN party suffered a net loss in its congressional standings that was unprecedented for a Mexican party that controlled the executive office, while the former ruling PRI party not only gained in legislative presence but continues to play a prominent role in domestic politics. The tenacious political presence of the former architects of semi-authoritarian rule, as well as the country's weak legacy around democratic institution building, confirms that a decidedly gradual democratic transition will be even more protracted. This paper analyzes Mexico's transition from a political economy standpoint, with a focus on the need to reconcile the emergence of competitive politics with the development strategy now in place. We trace four main themes that have underpinned this transition over the past two decades, and then analyze the ways in which these themes have crystallized into the political economic challenges that faced the administration of President Vicente Fox. In essence, we argue that the current juncture constitutes a "new" political phase for carrying out the next wave of reforms, even if politicians and policymakers have been slow to grasp this reality and act accordingly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper aims at unpacking the old/new Europe theme, one outlined by the US Secretary of Defense in January 2003 during a period of intense rhetorical battles. Rumsfeld's enunciation, indicative of a divide that emerged across the Atlantic over the issue of war in Iraq, is here used as an inroad into exploring what has recently gone wrong, why and what are the prospects of closing the gulf that has opened up in the sphere of transatlantic relations. His statement is depicted as offering a window into the US administration's conceptualizations pertaining to Europe in a security-related, post-9/11 context and perceptions on what the ties between Europe and North America are basically about. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the conference paper "Politics of CO2 capture and storage: An analysis of government funding of RD&D" that was prepared for the Annual Meeting of the International Studies Association in Honolulu, Hawaii. It aims to evaluate the depth of political commitment to CO2 capture and storage (CCS) by determining the amount of funding provided for research, development and demonstration by governments in North America and Europe.

The article presents a conference paper titled "Negotiating Water Privately: Business as Usual?" presented at the "46th International Studies Association Annual Convention" in Honolulu, Hawaii. It describes the governance system in Canada before the bulk water exports debate. It offers an analysis of the dynamics underlying the Canadian decision to prevent bulk water exports at both federal and provincial levels.

The article presents the conference paper titled "Regional Governance of Global Climate Change: Emissions Trading and the North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation" prepared for the "Annual Meeting of the International Studies Association" held in Honolulu, Hawaii. It explores issues concerning the development of a North American governance system including the introduction to the North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation and an assessment of its considerations regarding climate change.

The article presents the conference paper titled "Local Leadership: North American Climate Change Action from Below" prepared for the "Annual Meeting of the International Studies Association" held in Honolulu, Hawaii. It discusses climate change policy developments throughout North America. It examines the emissions from utility generation across states and provinces like Quebec and Vermont.

Changes in the science and technology sectors of Central and East European states since the 1980s have resulted in enormous changes to the composition, access, and influence of the scientific community upon environmental policy. Such changes were drastic enough during the transition from communist rule, but when combined with subsequent accession into the European Union, the influence of the science community upon the environmental debate has become even more complicated and less well understood. This paper examines the role that the scientific community of the new EU member states plays in legitimating the EU's environmental discourse of risk and the precautionary principle, and argues that the accession process has posed severe challenges to the ability of the science and technology communities to positively influence larger environmental debates. By comparing the experience of the United States in increasingly centralized decision-making processes, the EU risks marginalizing vital criticism in the same manner as has occurred in the US and Canada. The consequences of this may include a move from the precautionary principle to NIMBY-ism in CEE states, and loss of international environmental leadership on the part of the EU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a conference paper titled "The State of the State in North American Migration and Research Possibilities." It mentions that states now regulate migration since they can no longer maintain security and promote economic growth. It says that the movement of Mexicans to Crawfordsville is not part of a trend but rather a global phenomenon. According to scholar Daniel Tichenor, the capacity of the U.S. to introduce change into its political system is due to immigration.

ABSTRACT The admission procedures of most North American universities provide an interesting but unexplored case for studying contemporary power and knowledge relations. These procedures, which apply different sets of admission requirements to domestic and non-domestic applicants, evaluate the latter mainly on the grounds of their scores from standardized tests, such as TOEFL and GRE, that are developed and promoted by US networks of commercial and educational expertise. This paper explores the role of such mundane and benign techniques of evaluation in disciplining and governing foreign populations at a distance, and thus in reinforcing the exercise of a neo-liberal hegemonic knowledge based power. It suggests that the complex and multiple ways in which this power is exercised cannot be captured by simplistic and dichotomist ideological positions that perceive the exercise of power in today?s neo-liberal world just as a form of domination or exploitation. It argues for the usefulness of Foucaultian governmentality perspective, which seeks to identify the technologies of government, that link the conduct of individuals and organizations to socio-political objectives through ?action at a distance mechanisms?, in exploring the real nature of contemporary neo-liberal rule. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the evolution of Canadian military traditions, and the associated way in which the Canadian government links national security with international security. The main part of the paper traces this evolution. On that basis, I then consi ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the shifting role of private security companies in security politics in national and global governmentalities. It traces the parallel evolution of state and non-state (paramilitary) forces through the dynamics of transnationalism and globalism. Within that field, it pays particular attention to how the expansion of the field of security fuels the proliferation of “private-securing” in everyday lives and how the practices of ‘private-securing’ in turn are deeply imbricated in political subjectivity of 
citizenry around the world but especially in North America and Europe. The paper argues that this mode of security politics increasingly demands and actively produces citizen subjects that are “transpolitical,” that is, intensely conditioned and regimented to interpret and internalize politics of security as apolitical. It is where security rises to the level of metapolitics as if beyond the reach of political conduct. There is an underlying political economy to this shift anchored in contemporary regimes of statecraft and governmentality. The transformations in the field of security, especially through the proliferation of private security practices in Europe and North America, serve as an instructive entry into the dynamics of this economy. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The feminist literature on gendered migration has proliferated as labour demands in North America and Western Europe have increased - a combined result of demography and the opening up of new labour markets, for example in commoditized domestic labour. We know a good deal about how some migrants are faring (poorly) in particular kinds of domestic service labour markets. However, we know much less about the transnational exchanges of information that enable migrants to adjust to changing policy conditions attending the migration process. As countries such as Canada and the US adjust their immigration strategies to address labour market challenges, policies are being translated across borders to migrants-in-waiting. Multiple sources of information are relied upon including actors in the ever-expanding migration related industries. Taking the case of Philippine migrant workers to Canada’s Live-in Caregivers Programme, primarily women but with some increase in male subscribers, this paper explores the implications of border crossings not only of actual migrants but also their information sources, and the actual emigration/migration/immigration policies they must accommodate themselves to. In particular, the paper focuses upon the translations of immigration policies by labour brokers who are well positioned to take advantage of policy shifts in migrant destination countries. Despite intensified state efforts in both countries to regulate unscrupulous practices, increasingly skilled migrants remain vulnerable to deepened levels of exploitation. Ironically this occurs at precisely the time in global migration policy when more flexible conditions for admissible migrants suggest some advantages could finally accrue to skilled women migrants. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the author analyzes how North America has emerged as a security region. Based on security governance theories, the paper argues that North America has become a real region due to reasons of security, economic advantages and political interests, generating the idea of consolidating a North America Community by means of the deepening of NAFTA. The events of 9/11 put pressure on the countries of North America to seek a shared viewpoint about security issues and the regional vision is gradually being acquired. The three countries recognize common problems regarding security and the existence of transnational threats that cannot be treated independently. Security has become an important element of integration; the main question is if North America is building a security community or an identity in security issues after 9/11? ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper I will focus in particular on the connections between South-North (labor) migration in the context of the North American region, encompassing Canada, the US and Mexico, and the violence of development. Against this background the act of border crossing will be analyzed by highlighting the migration/insecurities nexus. A final, short section of the paper will be devoted on the construction of a "governance regime of labor migration from below" involving multiple actors. To some extent this emerging regime from below is inserted in a more generalized emerging regional regime of governance, while also embodying resistance practices to it. Moreover, the emerging practices around migration and the involvement of what Castles and Miller (2003) have dubbed the "migration industry" provide some degree of security for migrants, especially the activities by pro-migrant groups and human rights organizations. At the same time, however, actors such as "polleros" are also the cause of increasing insecurities for migrants. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In social sciences, the questions that we seek an answer to are inevitably shaped and influenced by the current political context of national as well as international developments. ?Policy? has an impact on specifying what we study in political science. But not all policy issues have equivalent impact on determining the substance of research.The most striking example of how public policy needs have shaped research agenda in social sciences is the recent focus on studies that are oriented towards understanding the cultural and institutional dynamics of Islam and its relation to questions related to democracy and democratization. Equally on the rise in the academia is a focus on security studies and terrorism.This type of a shift in our agenda is not possible without adequate financial support for research. The choice of grants and funds allocated for research in the above mentioned fields seems to have increased in the past five years while equally important areas of concern have been unable to have access to financial support to conduct field research. Choice of grants distributed for research is an important indicator of this change.This paper is divided into three parts. The first part of the paper offers a brief survey of the shifts in research preferences of academicians in selected universities in North America following 9/11. The focus will be primarily on the books and articles published in addition to thematic grouping of those studies. The goal is to demonstrate the increasing dominance of security related studies as opposed to scientifically relevant others. The second part of the paper will be concerned with a long-time neglected field in the social sciences as an example to how selective-policy driven research agenda may end up disregarding: that of labor studies. This choice is significant in an era when rising neoliberal policy preferences have become dominant in shaping our collective curiosity and need to know about novel developments in labor organizations. Even though there remain countless questions regarding the current condition of labor and status of alternative labor movements and organizations that operate across the globe, the minimal availability of funding for research that directly problematizes labor may be seen as an indicator of an influence by policy makers and lobbyists that shape up, if not dictate, the research agendas of major institutions across North America. Finally, this paper aims to propose a broader research agenda for the study of labor, labor relations, labor organizations and labor movements by offering scientifically significant and politically relevant questions in ?neoliberal times?. With this aim, the paper ends with a brief comparative analysis of labor movements in Argentina and Turkey, in the post 1980s era with a focus on recuperated factories movement in the former and an analysis of the relative labor quiescence of Revolutionary Labor Unions Confederation (DISK) in the latter. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing upon an established research project that investigates global production networks spanning North America, this paper asks what can be learned about the international division of labor from the literature on global commodity chains (or international production networks, more broadly conceived). In addition to tracing the forgotten (and largely discarded) roots of the global commodity/value chain framework to the political economy of world-systems approach, I also draw on relevant insights from the literature on multinational corporations and a number of early papers regarding organizational externalization, including work by Hymer and Helleiner, as intellectual precursors to the contemporary literature on global chains. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 110th U.S. Congress has a good chance of passing immigration reform legislation before the end of 2007. A Temporary Worker Program (TWP) is widely expected to be included in whatever legislative package is enacted. This would potentially "soften" the U.S.-Mexico border by enabling millions of individuals to be eligible for work in the United States and possibly eventually also earn US citizenship. This paper will examine some of the potential impacts of this policy on US border security practices as well as the larger North American integration project. By using historical and contemporary data, the paper examines the checkered past of temporary (or "guest") worker programs, both in the United States and Canada. It asks two research questions: (1) will a TWP truly ease security pressures on the US-Mexico border, including undocumented migration flows and policing measures?; and (2) how will a TWP affect the larger bi-lateral and trilateral relationships in North America?In answering these questions, the paper will assess some of the policy issues associated with a TWP and migration reform. It argues scholars and policymakers need to understand immigration, including any potential TWP, in the larger context of free trade, globalization, and economic integration, not solely as a labor issue. A labor accord is a necessary step for further economic integration and as a competitiveness measure. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper analyzes the feasibility of considering in North America the experience of the European Union in the harmonization of the levels of regional development, which would have a direct effect on reducing the income gaps and intensive migration flows. Although decision-makers are still skeptical about adopting structural funds in the region, the paper argues that sooner rather than later some such mechanism will become politically viable as a means to reduce migration flow and increase economic exchanges ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to contribute to the transnational collective action literature by trying to understand the conditions under which North-South collaboration among non-state actors becomes feasible. The main goal of the paper is to present patterns of relationship built among civil society organizations involved in the debates about trade agreements that have been negotiated in the Americas in the last fifteen years. More specifically, it will focus on the obstacles and opportunities of coalition-building between organizations from the North (in this case, the United States) and organizations from the South (Brazil, Mexico and Chile). This paper is based on field research undertaken in Brazil, Mexico, Chile and the United States between May of 2004 and August of 2005. It presents a preliminary analysis of part of the data collected through a social network survey conducted in the four countries, as well as qualitative interviews and participant observation. ..PAT.-Conference Proceeding [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper critically explores the shortcomings of the European model applied to the North American context, as well as the notion of a "Big Idea" as a basis for deeper integration. The next section assesses possible alternatives on the basis of their political feasibility. Finally, the paper examines the premise that deeper integration in North America is possible, but is unlikely to proceed through a big leap forward. ..PAT.-Conference Proceeding [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the wake of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the three nations of North America lost an historic opportunity to redefine their security interests as a region. Instead, we saw the hardening of borders, both in policy and in rhetoric, on the U.S. side, and initiatives by Mexico to trilateralize relations dissolving into a Canadian-led pattern of "double bilateralism." The recent joint communique issued by the three North American leaders does suggest a new impetus for "thinking North America," but this paper argues that deeper, structural and identity-related shifts on both an elite and grass-roots level are in the works due to an extra-regional player: China. Viewed as both a major player in, and major threat to, the North American economy by policy makers, entrepreneurs, and labor and immigration civil society activists, China or, more importantly, what China represents to these North American citizens may yet turn out to be the focal point for a new sense of urgency in coordinating actions trilaterally. Adopting a constructivist framework emphasizing both subjective and intersubjective aspects of collective identity, this paper will examine the potential for China as the"other" to serve as a symbolic lightning rod to encourage a long-awaited evolution in the regional "we-ness," and the development of an integrated policy space in North America. ..PAT.-Conference Proceeding [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently renewed attention has been directed towards proposals for ?deepening? the North American economic relationship between Canada, the United States and Mexico. The tri-national Task Force on the Future of North America, comprised of business and academic personnel from the three NAFTA states, released a report in March 2005 recommending action on an ambitious agenda focusing on tighter continental cooperation around security, energy and economic issues. In addition, the leaders of Canada, the U.S. and Mexico also signed a deal called the Security and Prosperity Partnership to cooperate on a variety of these issues of contention. Conspicuously absent from these renewed proposals for a ?NAFTA-plus? arrangement have been the voices, concerns and recommendations of North American civil society organizations.This paper will analyze the obstacles facing NGOs and related civic organizations in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico as they seek to both collaborate transnationally and influence the deep integration debate. This paper argues that a form of regional ?complex multilateralism? has been emerging across North America as NGOs, governments and nascent North American institutions such as the NAFTA-side agreements on labor and environmental cooperation, have encouraged new forms of engagement across the continent. This paper will specifically identify the range of civil society groups mobilizing around the deep integration agenda, and assess how such NGO groupings can better participate and enhance this level of regional institutional-civil society engagement in the process of building consensus about future frameworks for North American governance. It will focus in particular on the challenges in bridging the gaps between NGO organizations in the ?Northern? countries (U.S. and Canada), and those in the ?Southern? member of NAFTA, Mexico. ..PAT.-Conference Proceeding [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a recent statement, Mexican President Fox remarked that Mexican migrants are working jobs that ?not even blacks want to do in the U.S.?. Fox?s comment has renewed attention on North American mobility issues and immigration. The intense and constant movement of people across both the Canada-U.S. and the U.S.-Mexico border has long been a defining feature of the North American region. For instance, Mexicans have always provided a steady flow of workers in search of job opportunities in the United States. Mexican agricultural workers also travel to Canada to fulfill the need for agricultural workers. Despite the constant cross-border people flow in North America, to date there exists very little by way of a common and organized, mobility plan. In January of 2004, President Bush revealed a new immigration scheme that would permit millions of employed, undocumented Mexican migrants to stay in the U.S. as temporary guest workers. Canada also has a migration accord with Mexico. Indeed, often times, the Canada-Mexico Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program (SWAP) is often touted as a successful labor mobility model of cooperation that the U.S. should follow. SWAP demonstrates the possibility of establishing a safe, orderly, ?effective and regulated flow of migrant workers between the two countries? (http://www.nasda-hq.org/Accord/Mx-CanProgTrabAgr.pdf). To be sure a focus on migration issues will be an important component of any North American community plan since the way migration policies are conceptualized and configured have significant implications for any future integration project. This paper will analyze current proposals for migration and labor mobility in the North American context. Apart from examining both the American and Canadian immigration proposals, this paper will also review alternate mobility schemes proposed by groups like the Independent Task Force on the Future of North America and some of the plans advanced by powerful business groups in the North American context. Are the current immigration programs being advanced configured in a way that they will lead to the development of a North American community? If not, what are the implications for the North American integration project? ..PAT.-Conference Proceeding [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper will tackle one deceptively simple question: Why, a decade after the launching of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) between Canada, Mexico, and the U.S., are economists and policy analysts so hard pressed to explain the resistance of distributional trends to the pressures for greater equity that had been predicted as part of the integration process? For example, traditional theories of economic integration suggest that the liberalization of trade, investment and capital flows within the NAFTA bloc will trigger positive continuities at both the macro- and the microeconomic levels. Indeed, macroeconomic convergence is well underway, and the same can be said for emergent trends at the microeconomic level, where the elimination of barriers at the border has spurred a process of industrial restructuring based on dynamic productivity gains and greater technological specialization across North America. Yet, a widening gap in income distribution and real wages defies the dictates of economic integration theory, which holds that liberalization should mitigate, rather that exacerbate, the so-called hourglass pattern of unequal distribution that now characterizes the NAFTA bloc. This paper will explore this trend from two explanatory angles. First, it will analyze the negative interplay between economic integration and pre-existing weaknesses in human capital investment (education and health, in particular) that plague all three countries to varying degrees. Second, it will pinpoint the insufficiencies of short-term adjustment policies in the NAFTA bloc, where a disproportionate share of public expenditures have been allocated for passive income maintenance as opposed to active policies that facilitate adjustment, skills acquisition, and worker re-training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper summarizes work and research undertaken at the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (the Environment Commission of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)) over the past two years. The paper describes industry perspectives (both of electricity production companies, as well as of large electricity consumers) from the three NAFTA countries on what issues, policies and factors play the most important role in the development of renewable sources of electricity. The paper then addresses the barriers to the development of renewable electricity development that have been highlighted by industry, government, NGOs and academics. Specific barriers that are considered include both institutional and physical factors inhibiting trade in renewable electricity and how these trade inhibitions contribute to barriers to the development of renewable electricity. More general issues considered include lack of institutional capacity. The paper then addresses how these barriers could be addressed to help foster a more vibrant trade in renewable electricity, as well as to the further development of renewable electricity in North America. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the process of economic change would enable us to account for the diverse performance of national economies. Economic change itself is increasingly understood as a product of human perceptions about the complex world around them (North, 2005 ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept, and practice, of environmental justice has multiple meanings. For some, it is purely a distributional question of whether some populations experience more environmental bads, and fewer environmental goods, than others. For others, environment ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent accounts of North American “border security” have tended to periodize bordering practices along the lines of pre- and post-2001. Currently, as some argue, the border has become a location for sovereign exceptionalism, mobility governance, and the p ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent times, it has been argued that citizenship analyses need to be "framed in relation to multi-level goernance and trans-national activism" (Slim and Squires 2007:41). some others affirm that trans-national activism, by taking the struggle for rig ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2001, the New England Governors and EasternCanadian Premiers (NEG-ECP) adopted North America’sfirst multijuridictional Climate Change Action Plan,even if the US federal government refused to ratifythe Kyoto Protocol in March 2001. Recognizing t ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite its trilateral format, the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (SPP) has been criticized for reinforcing a “double-bilateral” structure more conducive to deepening Canada-U.S. ties at the expense of a more egalitarian inclusion of ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Across various regions and international regimes, what can be conceptualized as multilevel political opportunity structures have emerged, with non-state actors finding new opportunities to engage in collective action and make claims against elites and ins ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores cross-border economic development administration in Western Europe and North America. Specifically, we compare local efforts to promote cross-border economic development in two European and one North American region: the Marches, Italy, Luxembourg’s “Grand-Region,” and Michigan’s border with Ontario, Canada. Interviews were conducted with local, regional and central government officials, as well as private sector actors, in the Italian region of the Marche and in the country of Luxembourg in March-April 2006. Stakeholder interviews with local and provincial/state officials are to be conducted during the summer of 2007. We address the following questions, among others: Is cross-border cooperation within regions more extensive as a result of supranational efforts such as the Interreg initiative? Is cross-border cooperation primarily driven by demands from central governments or do subnational governmental units promote this mode of international cooperation? To what extent do common political economies facilitate cross-border cooperation?Our preliminary findings suggest that in both the Marche and in Luxembourg and its “Grand-Region,” cross-border regional cooperation plays a secondary role to national political processes and preferences. Given these findings, we conclude that there may be limits to cross-border cooperation in certain political and institutional contexts. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The process of globalization has opened up new opportunities for countries like Chile, small and distant from the centres of power, yet committed to international integration, cooperation and multilateralism based on the principles of liberty and democracy. Since 1990 Chile has undertaken an active foreign policy focussed on its integration in the international arena. Its foreign relations with North America have undergone a series of important advances which began under the Coalition of Parties for Democracy government (Concertación) first led by president Patricio Aylwin, then by president Eduardo Frei, followed by president Ricardo Lagos (2000-2006) and since March 2006 led by president Michelle Bachelet. Chile has stretched bilateral relations with each of the North American countries by signing into Free Trade Agreements with Canada (1997), Mexico (1999) and the United States (2004). Bilateral relations with Canada today have reached a more solid level. As “like-minded countries” they share common values and principles and aspire towards a similar international agenda. Both countries have joined efforts on issues of peace and stability in the Hemisphere, in particular with regards to Haiti. Chilean relations with the United States focus on increasing regional and multilateral cooperation on issues such as democracy, the opening up of markets, governance and the promotion of Human Rights. Diplomatic relations with Mexico date back to 1910 and were severed from 1974 to 1990. Today, Mexico and Chile celebrate several bilateral agreements including the Strategic Association Agreement (AAE, 2006) which covers the political, cooperation and comercial areas. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]