Research Library

Ciudad Juárez, across from El Paso, Texas, suffered an unprecedented downfall into violence and chaos between 2007 and 2012. It came to be known in 2010 as “the most dangerous city in the world.” What can cause a city to spiral downward into bloodshed and turmoil in the way that Ciudad Juárez did? This article makes the argument that the city's descent into violence and chaos is the result of a number of poor decisions made over the course of the 40 years preceding the bloodshed of the years under examination.

Although there are enormous potential benefits for Mexico's energy sector in the future, there are also important challenges the country must overcome to fully realize its energy potential. One of them has to do with the land ownership and land use regime in Mexico. As the legislative debate on the new Ley de Petróleos and the Ley de la Comisión Federal de Electricidad (Petroleum Act and Federal Electric Utility Act) proceeded in the summer of 2014, the Mexican Congress anticipated potential land-related conflicts associated with exploration and production activities related to hydrocarbons and new energy-related infrastructure projects. These potential conflicts stem from the fact that all of these projects will necessarily require the right of way to access and work on the resources in the subsoil of privately owned as well as on so-called “socially owned” lands in regions targeted for energy development. Thus, the Mexican Congress sought to avoid land-related conflicts by including language related to land ownership and use in the new energy legislation. The legislation, however, may not be able to prevent such conflicts.

Is there an immigration crisis? Considering recent apprehensions of unauthorized immigrants in the context of what has happened over the last 10 years, the data are inconsistent with an immigration crisis — at least a generalized immigration crisis.

Nearly 50,000 unaccompanied minors from Central America and Mexico have poured across the United States’ border with Mexico in the past eight months. While Mexico, the U.S. and the Central American sending countries share responsibility for contributing to the recent surge, they also share the responsibility to find a solution.

Mexico's organized crime groups have expanded into areas that include the theft of crude oil, gas and gasoline. The impact of organized crime on the energy sector is a real threat to the intended effects of Mexico's energy reforms.

Theory-building in border studies would go further if closer attention were paid to methods instead of the nature of borders and borderlands. Careful attention to methods would help make variables more amenable to theory building.