Transcript Cross Border Communication / Cooperation and The

Cross Border Communication /
Cooperation and
The Entrepreneurial Personality
El Paso – Ciudad Juárez
COMMON SOURCES OF EXPLANATIONS
FOR POLITICAL PHENOMENA

Three level explanations and combinations

–
Systemic explanations: The First Image

–
Kenneth Waltz, Theory of International Politics
Domestic politics: The Second Image


–
Kenneth Waltz, Man, the State and War
Robert D. Putnam, The Logic of Two Level Games
Peter Gourevitch, The Second Image Reversed: The
International Sources of Domestic Politics
The Individual: The Third Image

John Stoessinger, Why Nations go to War
MAIN ARGUMENT


In environments with poor institutional development,
communication and cooperation depend heavily on
specific individuals and these wax and wane on the
presence or absence, health or illness, willingness or
unwillingness, interest or lack of interest, and
capacity or lack of capacity (diplomatic or otherwise)
of specific individuals
The applicable model is “muddling through”
–
Charles E. Lindblom, The Science of “Muddling Through”
HYPOTHESES
–
–
–
The lesser the existence of cross border institutions or
bureaucratic mechanisms for interaction, the more
cross border communication and cooperation depend
on entrepreneurial personalities
The absence of entrepreneurial personalities brings
about the absence of cross border cooperation and
communication in the same proportion to that absence
The more cross border communication or cooperation
depends on entrepreneurial personalities, the more it is
likely to die off when individuals become absent or ill,
lose interest or willingness, or reach capacity or
competence limitations either personal or political
Some Definitions:
Political Entrepreneurs



someone (usually active in the fields of either politics
or business) who founds a new political project,
group, or political party
a businessman who seeks to gain profit through
subsidies, protectionism, government contracts, or
other such favorable arrangements with government
through political influence.
a political actor (not necessarily a politician) who
seeks to further his or her own political career and
popularity by pursuing the creation of policy that may
or may not please the populace.
Some Definitions:
Local Cross Border Communication / Cooperation

Local cross Border Communication / Cooperation
–
–
Cross border communication consists in the
establishment of regularized interactions both formal
and informal between public officials and bureaucrats
with the ability to affect policy
Cross border cooperation consists in the establishment
of standard operating procedures between two
governmental entities across borders
OUR CASE: the dependent variable

El Paso / Ciudad Juárez
–
How developed are the local institutional
structures in El Paso / Ciudad Juárez?
OUR CASE: The independent variables

El Paso / Ciudad Juárez
–
How much do cross border communication and
cooperation at the local level depend on
individuals (political entrepreneurs) rather than
institutions?
The institutionalized border



The term Regio comes from the Latin "regere", meaning to
draw a line or border. In ancient Rome the "Regio" was used for
demarcating an area rather than governing it. It did not
correspond to any legislative or governmental institution.
Even today Euroregions and other forms of transfrontier cooperation structures do not create a new type of government at
transfrontier level. They do not have political powers and their
work is limited to the competences of the local and regional
authorities which constitute them.
Within the limits of the geographical scope of co-operation (the
"Regio"), the transfrontier structures are arrangements for cooperation between units of local or regional government across
the border in order to promote common interests and enhance
the living standards of the border populations.
–
Source: Council of Europe
The non-institutionalized border

North America: Poorly and randomly institutionalized
–


Emmanuel Brunet-Jailly, University of Victoria
Tony Payan, University of Texas at El Paso
Gary Sawchuk Policy Research Initiative,“The Emergence of
CBRs along the Mexican-US Border and in Europe” (2008)
Institutions are functional not on the basis of regularized crossborder bureaucracies but rather on the basis of individuals who
choose to use them
Most institutions are bilateral not binational, which reinforces
the idea of separation rather than unity
–
Sergio Peña, Cross Border Planning on the U.S.-Mexico Border:
Bilateral vs. Binational Agencies
Institutional Development in
El Paso / Ciudad Juárez

El Paso – Ciudad Juárez
–
Local level




–
Low / nearly absent institutional development
Absence of regularized cross border communication routines
Absence of regularized cooperation mechanisms
Loss of autonomy over time / presence of a democratic deficit
Absence of institutions at the state level

Low / nearly absent institutional development
–
–
Stronger presence of institutions at the federal level

Department of State / Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores
–
–
–
–



–
Governors’ Annual Meeting / Larger context with a diluted state level agenda
U.S.-Mexico Border Transportation Planning
International Boundary and Water Commission
North American Development Bank / Border Environmental Cooperation Comm.
Various Joint Working Groups
North American Free Trade Agreement
Smart Border: 22 Point Agreement
Security and Prosperity Partnership
Civil Society institutional agenda
The Findings

Creation of a new discourse
–




The construction of a single community
Personal Interest
Creativity
Willingness to pay a political cost
Overcoming obstacles
–
–
–
Fear
Language
Differing electoral terms
The Creation of a New Discourse
–
–
–
–
Mayor John Cook…proclaimed, Tuesday, March 21,
2006 as the "Benito Juarez Day“…
At the request of Mayor Cook, churches in El Paso will
include a prayer for Ciudad Juarez…
“Today, both Ciudad Juarez and El Paso are moving
aggressively forward in our efforts to re-vitalize our
downtowns…”
Later, Mayor Cook and Senator Shapleigh joined with
representatives of Ciudad Juarez 's municipal
government to appeal for a united, cross-border front
against a reopened smelter…
Personal Interest

El Paso Mayor Cook said…people outside the
region don't understand the "symbiotic
relationship" between border communities
dependent on mutual economic, academic and
social exchanges…
–
–
–
–
–
Mayor Cook instituted bimonthly regular meetings between mayors
Mayor Cook created the Cross Border Relations Committee
Initiative to create the Binational Cross Border Committee
Unprecedented number of visits to Ciudad Juárez and continued
presence in mutual events
Appointment of Dr. Tony Payan to lead the international bridge
effort
Creativity: An example

The 31 May 2007 Meeting
–
–
Federal and State rules: The Open Meetings Act
Consultations with the Texas Attorney General

The 1 July 2008 City Councils Meeting
Creativity: An Example

Bi-monthly Mayors’ Meeting
–

Alternating between El Paso and Ciudad Juárez
City Councils Meeting
–
1 July 2008
Creativity: An example

Communication and Notification Plan
–
–
–
–
–
Negotiated and signed by the mayors on 25 June 2007
Communication / Notification only
No integrated operating procedures
Legal and liability rules
Prejudices: I did not sign up to fight fires in Ciudad
Juárez
Willingness to Pay a Political Cost

“In the end, our country’s border is not
something that divides us but rather
something that brings us together. A fence is
not the solution. We need to pursue better
agreements with Mexico regarding
immigration, look at alternate ways to combat
the illegal trade of humans and drugs and
keep our precious environment safe…”
–
Source: Mayor John Cook on the Border Wall
Overcoming Obstacles:
Differing electoral terms
 Fear
– Phone
call regarding the City
Council’s reluctance to travel
to Ciudad Juárez
Overcoming Obstacles:
Differing electoral terms

Mayor John F. Cook is not bilingual
–
–
–
This has not deterred Mayor Cook from
establishing numerous contacts with his
counterparts in Ciudad Juárez
Mayor Cook does not pretend to speak Spanish
nor does he pronounce “token” words either
The use of translators has become very common
Overcoming Obstacles:
Differing electoral terms

Mayor John Cook (El Paso)
–

Mayor Héctor Murguía (Ciudad Juárez)
–

2005-2008
2004-2007
Mayor José Reyes Ferriz (Ciudad Juárez)
–
2007-2010
What if Mayor Cook were missing?

Would new mayors pursue the same “integrative
goals”?
–
–
–
History shows that not everyone is willing to recognize the
high degree of local interdependence but are willing to
ignore it
Other mayors have not pursued relationships this close,
which reinforces that much of the cross-border contacts
remain the initiative of Mayor Cook
Mistake: institutionalized contacts remain elusive because
the constraints are considerable for local governments