A meso-level examination of cross-border governance in the Paso del Norte region: Political and economic perspectives

Pamela Lizette Cruz, University of Texas at El Paso

Abstract

Cross-border governance on the U.S.-Mexico border is dynamic, conflictive, complex, and paradoxical given that several issues such as securitization, immigration, arms and drug trafficking, and wealth and income disparities confluence there. At the same time, these issues separate two border populations which continually flow back and forth as trade in goods and services, investment and labor. The border is further complicated by a population that has a unique border identity with historical, cultural and social processes, separated by two very different governmental systems, which at times work at odds in their policy priorities. The U.S.- Mexico border is therefore in need of a “comprehensive and accessible yet careful and evidencedriven analysis for policymakers and citizens alike” (Wilson and Lee 2013:4). All this makes it imperative to comprehend the structure of cross-border governance in the Paso del Norte region, one of the largest metropolitan area on the U.S.-Mexico border, in order to leverage its advantages for the welfare of its citizens and to neutralize its disadvantages. This must be accomplished by analyzing the factors that lead to stability and change, achievements and shortcomings, and to give a place to border voices, therein yielding a better understanding of governance mechanisms, actors, and institutions that constantly shape cross-border interaction and policy outcomes. Such is the task of this work.

Subject Area

Political science

Recommended Citation

Cruz, Pamela Lizette, "A meso-level examination of cross-border governance in the Paso del Norte region: Political and economic perspectives" (2014). ETD Collection for University of Texas, El Paso. AAI1583903.
https://scholarworks.utep.edu/dissertations/AAI1583903

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