Neighbors or Partners? NAFTA and the Politics of Regional Economic Integration in North America

• Published in: Latin American Politics and Society Vol. 44; no. 3; pp. 141 - 157
• Main Author: Carranza, Mario E.
• Format: Journal Article Book Review
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.10.2002; University of Miami
• Subjects: Balance of Trade; Critical Debates; Free Trade; International Trade; North America; Regionalism; Treaties
• ISSN: 1531-426X; 1548-2456
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1548-2456.2002.tb00217.x

A review essay on books by (1) Victor Bulmer-Thomas (Ed), Regional Integration in Latin America and the Caribbean (London: Instit Latin American Studies, 2001); (2) Maxwell A. Cameron & Brian W. Tomlin, The Making of NAFTA: How the Deal Was Done (Ithaca, NY: Cornell U Press, 2000); (3) Anne E. Kingsolver, Stories: Fears and Hopes in Mexico and the United States (Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 2001); (4) Jacqueline Mazza, Don't Disturb the Neighbors: The United States and Democracy in Mexico, 1980-1995 (New York: Routledge, 2001); & (5) Guy Poitras, Inventing North America: Canada, Mexico, and the United States (Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 2002). A While a great deal of literature on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) exists, very little of it so far has focused on its political qualities & implications. The books reviewed do take a political stance, demonstrating that NAFTA could become an agreement of partners, not just neighbors, if the US would become more sensitive to noticing & remedying the inequalities in NAFTA's setup. Such topics as regionalism, North American identity, inequality among NAFTA nations, & ways NAFTA can be deconstructed are covered in the reviewed works. 15 References. D. Weibel