Making sense of Mexico's place in the world: a role theoretical analysis of Mexico's foreign policy
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Date
06/12/2021Item status
Restricted AccessEmbargo end date
06/12/2022Author
Loera González, Omar Alejandro
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Abstract
This thesis aims to answer why Mexico has an atypical foreign policy for a country
that can be considered a middle power and tackles this empirical puzzle through the
analytical tools of role theory. In this work, I argue that conflicting expectations from
several actors – domestic and external – have led to a foreign policy that is
contradictory to what is expected for a country with Mexico's material capabilities
and for its foreign policy objectives. The time frame of the thesis ranges from 1986
to 2018, when Mexico faced various transformations. These transformations
occurred in the international system and domestically with democratization and an
economic opening that drove the confrontation between its two foreign policy
orientations. The different interpretations of these orientations on how to implement
Mexico’s foreign policy led to disputes that affected the country's diplomatic
performance as a middle power.
Through case studies, the thesis examines three specific settings where Mexico could
have displayed middle-power behaviour. The first case study analyses Mexico’s
controversial membership and performance in the Iraq crisis within the Security
Council of the United Nations from 2002–2003. The second case study examines
Mexico’s ambition to display a regional leadership role in regional multilateral
bodies such as the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States and the
Pacific Alliance. Finally, the third case study focuses on Mexico’s engagement in the
niche issue of respect for human rights and democracy promotion. These three case
studies show how role conflict has operated in Mexico’s foreign policy.
In summary, this work contributes to scholarship on Mexican foreign policy and role
theory, and it is the first comprehensive application of role theory to the study of
Mexican foreign policy.
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