The North American Idea

Erscheinungsjahr 2011
ISBN: 978-0-19-978241-3
Verlag: ACADEMIC

Buch, Englisch, 264 Seiten, Print PDF, Format (B × H): 161 mm x 240 mm, Gewicht: 599 g

In its first seven years, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) tripled trade and quintupled foreign investment among the U.S., Mexico, and Canada, increasing its share of the world economy. In 2001, however, North America peaked. Trade slowed among the three, manufacturing jobs shrunk, and illegal migration and drug-related violence soared. Europe caught up, and China leaped ahead.

In The North American Idea, eminent scholar and policy-maker Robert A. Pastor explains that NAFTA's mandate was too limited to address the new North American agenda. Instead of offering bold initiatives like a customs union to expand trade, the three leaders thought small. Interest groups stalemated the small ideas as they inhibited the bolder proposals, and the governments accomplished almost nothing.

To overcome this resistance and re-invigorate the continent, the leaders need to start with an idea based on a principle of interdependence. If one country fails, all three are harmed, and if one grows, they all benefit. Drawing on first-hand experience as a policy-maker and analyst, Pastor shows how this idea--once woven into the national consciousness of the three countries--could mobilize public support for continental solutions to problems that have confounded each nation working on its own. To stimulate trade and reduce illegal migration, for example, the three countries could set up a fund to invest in the continent's infrastructure. Such a fund would be impossible without leadership and an idea of the continent's current importance and its future promise.

Providing essential historical context and challenging readers to view the continent in a new way, Robert Pastor offers an expansive vision and a detailed blueprint for a more integrated, dynamic, and equitable North America.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Pastor

Pastor, Robert

Fachgebiete

• Rechtswissenschaften Internationales Recht und Europarecht Internationales Recht Internationales Handels-, Wirtschafts- und Gesellschaftsrecht
• Wirtschaftswissenschaften Volkswirtschaftslehre Internationale Wirtschaft Handelsabkommen, Wirtschaftsorganisationen
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Internationale Beziehungen Internationale Organisationen und Institutionen

Inhaltsverzeichnis

- Foreword

- Part I: Should We Fear North America?

- Chapter 1: A Piñata for Pandering Pundits

- Chapter 2: North America's Genetic Code

- Chapter 3: Who Speaks for North America?

- Part II: Trespassing

- Chapter 4: Transcending the Borders

- Chapter 5: Speed Bumps, Potholes, and Roadblocks on the NAFTA Superhighway

- Part III: The North American Imperative

- Chapter 6: A North American Community - A Vision

- Chapter 7: New Policies for North America's 21st Century - A Blueprint

- Acknowledgements

Über Autor(innen)

Robert A. Pastor is Professor of Political Science and Co-Director of Center for North American Studies at American University.