Using the "Narcotrafico" Threat to Build Public Administration Capacity Between the US and Mexico

The current drug trafficking crisis between the US and Mexico is a "perfect storm" that has caused deaths, disappearances, and widespread fear of violence and insecurity in the border area between these two countries. Current US drug control policies with Mexico are based on a militarized system of border control and characterized by domestic gridlock over drug control and immigration reform. However, because drug trafficking and other underlying issues have both domestic and international consequences, they cannot be resolved unless both countries work together. Using the "Narcotrafico" Threat to Build Public Administration Capacity between the US and Mexico explores how they can do exactly that.

Co-edited by two public administration scholars from Mexico and the US and comprising chapters by 18 other experts from Mexico, Canada, and the US, the book demonstrates how the current situation of drug trafficking and violence, on top of the other existing perceptions and conditions, creates a real opportunity for the US to build relationships with its Mexican counterparts at state, local, national, and NGO levels. With chapters written by leading experts working in a broad spectrum of international and domestic US-Mexico policy issues, the book covers immigration, drug flow and conflict, gun-running, money laundering, education and economic and community development in both countries..

Only by supporting bi-national drug policies based on mutual understanding of the border as something that both separates and unites the US and Mexico will it be possible to develop cooperative policies that can lead from militarization to regularization of the US-Mexico border. Twenty years after the signing of NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) in 1994, it is time to recognize the link between effective drug control policies and the emergence of North America as a regional economic, social, and political powerhouse capable of successfully competing with the European Union, China, and other emerging regions in our increasingly globalized world, this book offers concrete, long-term solutions for building cooperative and shared public administrative capacity on both sides of the border.

Donald E. Klingner, PhD in public administration from the University of Southern California, is a distinguished professor in the School of Public Affairs at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA), and past president of ASPA. He is the coauthor of Public Personnel Management (Sixth Edition, 2010), published in English, Spanish, and Chinese. He has been a Fulbright Senior Scholar (Central America, 1994), a visiting professor at UNAM, Mexico (1999–2003), and a consultant to the United Nations, the World Bank, and the Inter-American Development Bank on public management capacity building. He was a faculty member at IUPUI (1974–1980) and Florida International University (1980–2001), and worked for the U.S. Civil Service Commission (1968–1973). Email: donald.klingner@gmail.com

Roberto Moreno Espinosa, PhD in public administration from UNAM and a postdoctoral fellow at the University of New Mexico, has been a member of the Inter-American Development Bank’s Advisory Council on Civil Society Representation in Mexico (2001–2009) and graduate coordinator of public administration at UNAM (1996–2008). He is the author of five books and numerous articles and essays, and has been a visiting professor at 20 Mexican and seven international universities. He is a member of the National System of Researchers (SNI), Level 2; chairman of the Board of the International Academy of Political and Administrative Sciences and Future Studies, AC, and professor at the Autonomous University of the State of Mexico (AUEM), Amecameca Campus. Email: rmorenoespinosa@yahoo.com.mx