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China poses a strong challenge to Mexico in the global competition to attract foreign direct investment (FDI). In the 1990s, Mexico experienced dramatic increases in FDI, particularly from U.S.-based transnational enterprises (TNEs) taking advantage of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Now, however, seeking to lower their costs of production, many TNEs are moving their manufacturing operations from Mexico to China. This paper examines how two different state governments in Mexico â€" the states of Nuevo Leon and Jalisco â€" have responded to this global challenge by seeking to move up the value chain in the global production process. Rather than focusing on low-cost manufacturing, they are now seeking to remain competitive by promoting higher value-added activities in specialized niches in which Mexico can compete with China. By comparing these contrasting cases, this paper argues that governments that can develop their transnational learning capacity â€" their ability to learn which sectors to target, and how to respond to prospective investors’ needs and concerns â€" will be the most effective at responding to China’s competitive challenge. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Established disciplines such as International Relations (IR) & International Political Economy (IPE), and even more explicitly interdisciplinary ones like Development Studies & Strategic Studies, are not always adroit in recognizing, let alone anticipating major trends. This deficiency is highlighted by the lamentable gaps in scholarship concerning the continuing reverberations from the end of bipolarity. Symptomatically, it was not scholars but a donor agency (DFID) which noticed in early 2005 that a quarter of the world's +/-200 states were 'fragile'. This paper explores whether a small group of 'emerging' economies might impact global politics, economics & societies through the first quarter of the new century as the NICs did towards the end of the last one. It is an early, experimental product of a novel collaborative project at CIGI on Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, ASEAN & Mexico (BRICSAM). The paper focuses on four interrelated aspects of the emergence of BRICSAM on the world stage:i)non-state as well as state impacts on - local to global - governance;ii)regionalisms, institutional as well as 'new' informal modalities;iii)orthodox as well as 'new' (human) security; &iv)implications for various forms of multilateralism as a possible antidotes to US inclinations towards unilateralism. The paper concludes by reflecting on such a possible shift in geopolitics for the analysis & practice of IR & IPE, Development & Security Studies. ..PAT.-Conference Proceeding [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regressive globalization and global change have created new threats for global and local food security. Reductions in crop yields, drought and floods have limited food supply, while the demand for biofuels, food imports in China and India, and speculative ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main object of my research is to analyze the impact of international free capital mobility on economic growth and development process in developing countries based on four cases studies of China, Korea, Chile and Mexico. The case studies will show varying effects of free capital flows reflecting the variations in paths and features of financial liberalization in these countries. In explaining factors affecting different patterns of financial liberalization the research examines the possibility and ability of developing countries in managing capital account liberalization and financial market opening. That is crucial not only to preventing negative effects of free capital mobility, but also to enhancing the autonomy of economic and social policy. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]