Sharing 2,000 miles of border, the United States and Mexico have strong interests in common, but the growing levels of polarization might threaten their bilateral agenda.
Evidence demonstrates that severe polarization is harmful to democracy as it engenders intolerance, discrimination, erosion of social trust, and increased violence. However, we need to learn more about the effects of polarization on public policymaking, mainly when there is more than one country involved.
The policy relationship between Mexico and the United States has been dominated by trade, immigration, and security. But a closer look reveals that the two countries share common problems related to water management, environmental protection, healthcare, and education, among many others. However, increasing levels of polarization limit the potential for a more multifaceted bilateral collaboration.
This study investigates the level of polarization among future policy elites in Mexico and the United States and how this hinders policy cooperation.
Objectives
- Identify core political beliefs that prevail among future policy elites in Mexico and the United States and their perception of the neighboring country.
- Measure their degree of interest in the policy problems of the neighboring country and their willingness to participate in their solution.
- Investigate, through experimental methods, how existing biases and misconceptions can be changed to promote a better understanding of the neighboring country and the willingness to collaborate in developing binational policy.
Methods
Our target population is graduate students enrolled in academic programs interested in influencing the public sphere, such as public policy, global affairs, public management, and the like in the United States and Mexico. The sample focuses on universities in the four American states bordering Mexico: Arizona, California, Nuevo Mexico, and Texas. The Mexico sample includes students from every state, including Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey and other cities, as prospective policy elites from all over the country are likely to influence to U.S-Mexico bilateral agenda. Data were collected through an online questionnaire with around 60 questions. The questionnaire covers the following topics:
- rule of law
- government intervention and individual freedom
- trusts
- corruption
- social participation
- views on the neighboring country’s public affairs
- party affiliation and polarization
