By sharing one of the longest land borders in the world, the United States and Mexico will always have a special relationship. In the early twenty-first century, they are as important to one another as ever before with a vital trade partnership and often-tense migration positions. The ideal introduction to U.S.-Mexican relations, this book moves from conflicts all through the nineteenth century up to contemporary democratic elections in Mexico. Domínguez and Fernández de Castro deftly trace the path of the relationship between these North American neighbors from bloody conflicts to (wary) partnership. By covering immigration, drug trafficking, NAFTA, democracy, environmental problems, and economic instability, the second edition of The United States and Mexico provides a thorough look back and an informed vision of the future.

Sovereignty is a key factor to consider when studying the Mexico-United States relationship. During most of the twentieth century, as a result of the new character of the Mexican post-revolutionary regime, there was a decoupling between the state’s maximalist discourse on sovereignty, and its practice. Sovereignty as an undifferentiated whole does not exist; it should instead be disaggregated into the myriad issue areas in which it is constantly negotiated. Focusing on a tripartite classification relating to the construction of Mexico’s sovereignty towards its northern neighbor since 1920, this volume illustrates how Mexico’s sovereignty has varied not only according to the times, but also according to the issues at stake. In doing so, Arturo Santa-Cruz comprehensively covers a variety of issues in the bilateral agenda such as drug trafficking, electoral observation, human rights, investment, migration, security, and trade, as well as some defining moments in the relationship, such as the 1923 US granting of recognition to the Mexican post-revolutionary regime, the 1938 oil nationalization, the 1982 debt crisis, and the 1995 financial bailout. These diverse cases, analyzed through an original analytical approach, capture sovereignty’s multifocal meaning.

Although relations with Central America dominated U.S. foreign policy with its southern neighbors during the 1980s, relations with Mexico will likely shape U.S. foreign policy in the next decade. This book examines the troubled nature of the triangular link between Mexico, Central America, and the United States in order to understand the implications of U.S. policy for peace and development in the Western Hemisphere. The book begins with an analysis of Mexico's foreign policy and its historical role in seeking diplomatic solutions to volatile situations in Central America. The authors then assess the probable impact on the region of increased economic integration, particularly the U.S.-Mexico free trade agreement, especially important in light of Mexico's enormous debt and immigration issues. Special attention is also given to diplomatic aspects of the relationship, with a focus on the process of negotiations to resolve conflicts in Central America. A lengthy epilogue offers critical commentary on key issues discussed in the text by such prominent figures as Jesse Jackson, Carlos Vilas, David Ibarra, and Guadalupe Gonzales.

In the past two decades, changes in the Mexican government's policies toward the 30 million Mexican migrants living in the US highlight the importance of the Mexican diaspora in both countries given its size, its economic power and its growing political participation across borders. This work examines how the Mexican government's assessment of the possibilities and consequences of implementing certain emigration policies from 1848 to 2010 has been tied to changes in the bilateral relationship, which remains a key factor in Mexico's current development of strategies and policies in relation to migrants in the United States. Understanding this dynamic gives an insight into the stated and unstated objectives of Mexico's recent activism in defending migrants' rights and engaging the diaspora, the continuing linkage between Mexican migration policies and shifts in the US-Mexico relationship, and the limits and possibilities for expanding shared mechanisms for the management of migration within the NAFTA framework.

The relationship between criminal syndicates and politicians has a long history, including episodes even from the earliest years of America's colonies. But while organized crime may not get the headlines it once did in North America, the resurgence of such criminal activity in Latin America, and in some European nations, has grabbed the public's attention. In Dangerous Liaisons noted scholars describe and analyze the role of organized crime in the financing of politics in selected democracies in Latin America (Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, and Mexico) and in Europe (Bulgaria and Italy). The book seeks to unravel the myths that have developed around crime in these locales, while providing facts and informing the debate on how organized crime corrupts democratic institutions, especially in relation to the funding of political parties and their activities. Among the subjects studied in detail are the role of organized crime in political finance through the lens of Argentina's presidential campaigns of 1999 and 2007; Brazil's elected officeholders and their role in corruption; the weakness of Colombia's democracy; the growing role of money in Costa Rica's politics; the destructive effects of drug money on Mexican institutions; the link between organized crime—narrowly and broadly understood—and political financing in Bulgaria; and crime and political finance in Italy. The work of the scholars corrects what volume editor Kevin Casas-Zamora calls "a glaring gap in the literature on the role of organized crime in the corruption of democratic institutions." That is, the funding of political parties and their activities—which in these cases are mostly election campaigns. The chapters not only present the evidence but also can be regarded as a call to action. Contributors include Leonardo Curzio (CISAN/UNAM), Donatella della Porta (European University Institute), Delia Ferreira Rubio (a member of the international boa