This project studied institutions and cross-border governance on the U.S.-Mexico border with a focus on the adequacy of current border governing institutions. The study, with academic institutions on both sides of the border, looked at the function, structure, actors and processes of cross-border governance.
| The edited volume "Binational Commons: Institutional Development and Governance on the US-Mexico Border" is the culmination of the research project. Binational Commons focuses on whether the institutions that presently govern the U.S.-Mexico transborder space are effective in providing solutions to difficult binational problems as they manifest themselves in the borderlands. Critical for policy-making now and into the future, this volume addresses key binational issues. It explores where there are strong levels of institutional governance development, where it is failing, how governance mechanisms have evolved over time, and what can be done to improve it to meet the needs of the U.S.-Mexico borderlands in the next decades. |
Workshops were held in the course of this multi-year project to gather input and engage in discussions from U.S.-Mexico border constituents, including private sector actors, civil society and government actors.
The team from the Center for the United States and Mexico and some of the authors presented working papers on April 4-7, 2018, at the Association for Borderlands Conference (ABS) in San Antonio, Texas. The final program for the ABS conference can be found here.
The Center co-organized the “Walls, Bridges and the Future of Transborder Communities: II International Workshop on Transborder Governance and Cooperation” on March 23-24, 2017, with Arizona State University’s Program for Transborder Communities, El Colegio de la Frontera Norte (COLEF) and the Centro de Investigación en Alimentación y Desarrollo (CIAD), in partnership with the International Network on Comparative Border Studies (RECFronteras).
On Thursday, Oct. 26, 2017, the Mexico Center held a workshop with authors who are writing research papers for the “Binational Institutional Development on the U.S.-Mexico Border” project. Currently 19 authors have written 12 papers for the project, covering a broad range of issues such as defining the U.S.-Mexico border, border space and place, border statistical data collection, local governments and governance, environmental governance, social network analysis, security cooperation, trade and transportation institutions, energy and human mobility. Each paper also focuses on the institutions governing the field the author(s) examine, including their character, effectiveness, deficiencies, gaps, areas that need improved governance, and concrete policy recommendations.
The authors and working titles for the papers of this project are as follows:
1. Defining the Border and the Borderlands
Tony Payan, Ph.D., and Pamela L. Cruz
Baker Institute Mexico Center
2. Place and Space Governance at the U.S.-Mexico Border (1944-2017)
Sergio Peña Medina, Ph.D.
El Colegio de la Frontera Norte
3. Data for Mexico-U.S. Border Studies: A Comparison of Mexican and U.S. Data Collection and Distribution
James Gerber, Ph.D.
San Diego State University
Eduardo Jorge Mendoza Cota, Ph.D.
El Colegio de la Frontera Norte
4. An Exploratory Study on Collaborative Binational Social Networks on the U.S.-Mexico Border
Víctor Daniel Jurado Flores and Cecilia Sarabia Rios, Ph.D.
El Colegio de la Frontera Norte
5. Governing our Borderlands Commons
Manuel A. Gutiérrez
Arizona State University
Kathleen Staudt, Ph.D.
The University of Texas at El Paso
6. Environmental Governance at the U.S.-Mexico Border: Institutions at Risk
Irasema Coronado, Ph.D.
The University of Texas at El Paso
Stephen Mumme, Ph.D.
Colorado State University
7. From the Institutional to the Informal: Security Cooperation Between the U.S. and Mexico
Octavio Rodríguez Ferreira
University of San Diego
8. US-Mexico Law Enforcement and Border Security Cooperation: An Institutional-Historical Perspective
Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera, Ph.D.
George Mason University
Evan D. McCormick, Ph.D
Clements Center for National Security, University of Texas at Austin
9. Addressing Major Border Institutions in a NAFTA Renegotiation
David A. Gantz, Ph.D.
University of Arizona
10. The Future of Energy Infrastructure on the U.S.-Mexico Border
Adrian Duhalt, Ph.D.
Baker Institute Mexico Center and Center for Energy Studies
11. A Review of Transportation Institutions along the U.S.-Mexican Border
Kimberly Collins, Ph.D.
California State University, San Bernardino
12. Facilitating and Advancing Human Mobility on the U.S.-Mexico Border
Katharine Donato, Ph.D.
Georgetown University
Carla Pederzini Villarreal, Ph.D.
Universidad Iberoamericana
13. Health Institutions at the US-Mexico Border
Eva M. Moya, Ph.D., Silvia M. Chávez-Baray, Ph.D., and Miriam S. Monroy
The University of Texas at El Paso
On Aug. 24, 2016, the Center for the United States and Mexico held its second closed-door workshop to continue the "Binational Institutional Development on the U.S.-Mexico Border" research project. The workshop gathered private sector input on cross-border needs, gaps, issues, and challenges.
The honorable Alan Bersin, Assistant Secretary for International Affairs and Chief Diplomatic Officer for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Policy, made initial remarks and set a stage for discussion. Workshop attendees included over 30 cross-border companies and stakeholders. A panel of experts, moderated by Tony Payan, examined key cross-border issues such as transportation, manufacturing, security, and energy.
Panel Presentation
On Feb. 23, 2016, the Mexico Center held a closed-door workshop to launch a major research project: "Binational Institutional Development on the U.S.-Mexico Border." The workshop engaged participants from academia, government, non-government and business sectors in an extensive discussion on the scope and agenda of a major two-year research project on the U.S.-Mexico border.
Scholars and experts led discussions and conversations on key issues along the U.S.-Mexico border:
The following institutions and organizations participated in the workshop:
