Defense and Security Studies Commons^™

Access, Boundaries And Cooperation: The Abcs Of North American Security (Abc Colloquium Agenda, Feb), Emma Norman, Gaspare Genna, David Mayer

Emma R. Norman

Regional integration promised to open up borders, expand the mobility of persons and resources, institutionalize multilateral cooperation fostering security and prosperity, and multiply arenas of belonging, encouraging more inclusive collective identities. In the North American case that promise has rung increasingly hollow. Unequal relationships between states were built into regional agreements and the priority of national interests, especially security, often confounds cooperation leading to harsh attempts to re-solidify borders. In consequence, large groups remain excluded, are becoming progressively marginalized, or find themselves caught in a web of tensions created by the confrontation between transnational forces and reassertions of local or …