Constructing Nafta
Myth, Representation, and the Discursive Construction of U.S. Foreign Policy
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 7301893 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Amy Skonieczny (0000-0002-1548-1551, University of Minnesota, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2001 |
| Volume | 45 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 433-454 |
| Publication date | 2001-09-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | International Studies Quarterly (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0020-8833 • E-ISSN: 1468-2478 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1111/0020-8833.00208 |
| OpenAlex | W2042528388 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 13 |
| References cited | 27 |
The passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement in November 1993 signified the acceptance of Mexico as an equal trading partner with the United States and Canada. However, accepting Mexico as an equal partner challenged a deeply ingrained U.S. image of Mexico as inferior, childlike, dependent, and suspicious. How was it possible for the U.S. public and its congressional representatives to accept equal economic integration with a country that embodied such a negative image? Addressing this dilemma through a constructivist approach, this article argues that the existing image of Mexico remained intact. The passage of NAFTA instead resulted from a discursive construction of NAFTA that emphasized a positive U.S. self-image through American myths thereby allowing the simultaneous acceptance of Mexico as inferior and as an equal trading partner. American myths and other representational elements constructed NAFTA for the American public and created a policy success for President Clinton. This article relies on an empirical investigation of newspaper advertisements to demonstrate how myths contributed to the discursive construction of NAFTA
Dilemma · Economics · Embodied cognition · Epistemology · Free trade · Free trade agreement · International trade · Mythology · Nationalism · Newspaper · Political economy · Political science · Representation (politics · Sociology · History · International Relations and Foreign Policy · Law
Plaza Como Práctica Citacional
Emotions and Political Narratives
Introspective Journeys and Lessons Learned
Comparative Exceptionalism
Victims and Vamps, Madonnas and Whores
Exploring the foreign policies of populist governments
Making Torture Possible
Trading with the enemy
Race, culture, and economics
Issue-Areas, Sovereignty Costs, and North Americans’ Attitudes Toward Regional Cooperation
The Discursive Demolition of the Asian Development Model
From CNOOC to Huawei
Cognitive Images and Support for International Economic Agreements with the United States Among Mexican Citizens
The Making of Nafta
The symbolic uses of politics
The Discursive Mind
Foreign Policy Motivation
Perception and Misperception in International Politics
Foreign Policy Decision Making
Perceptions and Behavior in Soviet Foreign Policy
Perception and Misperception in International Politics
Images and Intervention
International cooperation in the war on drugs
Making State Action Possible
Global Inscription
Writing Sovereign Identities
A psychological examination of political leaders
The Carter Administration’s Policy Toward Nicaragua
On diplomacy
Role theory and foreign policy analysis
Foreign Policy Motivation
Foreign Policy as Social Construction
Conclusion
Patterns of Dissent and the Celebration of Difference
Beyond the enemy image and spiral model
Beyond Belief
Images in International Relations
The End of America's Postwar Ethos
Latin America in Caricature
| Unique citing works | 13 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,57 |
| Citation span | 2003 - 2024 (22) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 13 |