Agricultural policies and local sustainability: a normative coherence for development analysis of Mexico's pineapple sector

in Local Environment (2023)

This article examines agriculture and sustainability in Mexico with specific focus on pineapple producing communities. Because this is an internationally healthy market and because Mexico has increased ... [more ▼]

This article examines agriculture and sustainability in Mexico with specific focus on pineapple producing communities. Because this is an internationally healthy market and because Mexico has increased its pineapple production in recent years, it can be considered a representative case in which to study the impact of agricultural policies on local sustainable development. Moreover, during the last four decades, Veracruz has led Mexican states in pineapple production and extension, with three municipalities as the foremost producers, which has consequently, impacted their ecosystems. This article documents land cover, economic, and social transformations in these municipalities. First, it shows how extension of this crop has made pineapple the dominant land cover in the region. Second, the article illustrates how parallel markets exist between export-oriented large producers and smaller ones who sell locally. Third, the article documents the increase in social marginalisation in these communities even though increased pineapple production has generated more overall wealth. These trends are then explained through a normative coherence for development analysis of Mexico's agricultural programmes and their focus on increasing productivity. [less ▲]

Los pagos por servicios ambientales en la Ciudad de México: un enfoque de coherencia de políticas públicas

in Región y Sociedad (2022), 34

Objective: to analyze two programs of environmental services payment in the Mexico City Soil Conservation Lands using the policy coherence for development theoretical-methodological framework. Methodology ... [more ▼]

Objective: to analyze two programs of environmental services payment in the Mexico City Soil Conservation Lands using the policy coherence for development theoretical-methodological framework. Methodology: qualitative analysis based on policy coherence typologies. Results: the programs’ beneficiaries economically depend on the associated subsidies; there are restrictions for the economic activities’ development; the financial mechanisms are inefficient and there is a lack of a sustainability vision that considers the socioeconomic dimensions. Limitations: participation of authorities and community members in this type of study is limited and there is a lack of information on the relationships between institutions and work programs. Value: the analysis of peri-urban public policies through the policy coherence for development framework. Conclusions: applying the policy coherence for development framework helped identifying imbalances and synergies among the policy dimensions analyzed. This methodology can promote the mainstreaming of sustainability norms. [less ▲]

Unified, Labeled, and Semi-Structured Database of Pre-Processed Mexican Laws

in Data (2022), 7(91),

This paper presents a corpus of pre-processed Mexican laws for computational tasks. The main contributions are the proposed JSON structure and the methodology used to achieve the semi-structured corpus ... [more ▼]

This paper presents a corpus of pre-processed Mexican laws for computational tasks. The main contributions are the proposed JSON structure and the methodology used to achieve the semi-structured corpus with the selected algorithms. Law PDF documents were transformed into plain text, unified by a deconstruction of law–document structure, and labeled with natural language processing techniques considering part of speech (PoS); a process of entity extraction was also performed. The corpus includes the Mexican constitution and the Mexican laws that were collected from the official site in PDF format repealed before 14 October 2021. The collection has 305 documents, including: the Mexican constitution, 289 laws, 8 federal codes, 3 regulations, 2 statutes, 1 decree, and 1 ordinance. The semi-structured database includes the transformation of the set of laws from PDF format to a digital representation in order to facilitate its computational analysis. The documents were migrated to JSON type files to represent internal hierarchical relations. In addition, basic natural language processing techniques were implemented on laws for the identification of part of speech and named entities. The presented data set is mainly useful for text analysis and data science. It could be used for various legislative analysis tasks including: comprehension, interpretation, translation, classification, accessibility, coherence, and searches. Finally, we present some statistic of the identified entities and an example of the usefulness of the corpus for environmental laws. [less ▲]

Promoting participative policy coherence for sustainable development Inclusive dialogue through the “pull-push-match” methodology

in Regions & Cohesion (2022), 12(1), 1-24

Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development (PCSD) has promoted sustainability through policy coordination, but to what extent does it respond to the needs of local communities? Scholars of PCSD have ... [more ▼]

Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development (PCSD) has promoted sustainability through policy coordination, but to what extent does it respond to the needs of local communities? Scholars of PCSD have acknowledged how it has been considered as an end in itself rather than a means to achieve normative impact. A major limit of PCSD has been its institutionalized nature, as mechanisms for social participation have not been highlighted in implementation strategies. This article addresses this issue. It proposes “pull-push-match” as a methodology for the es-tablishment of participative PCSD. The article, co-authored by a team of researchers and practitioners from Mexico, addresses PCSD in relation to Indigenous communities. [less ▲]

Explicar los impactos de la globalización en las zonas transfronterizas a través de la calidad de la democracia. Un marco interregional comparativo

in Estudios Políticos (2021), 62

Globalisation has significantly affected the ability of States to govern flows. Important questions which have recently emerged in international relations ask: how has globalisation affected border ... [more ▼]

Globalisation has significantly affected the ability of States to govern flows. Important questions which have recently emerged in international relations ask: how has globalisation affected border regions and what explains these impacts? Employing a comparative, cross-regional research design, this article proposes two originalresponses to these questions: first, it questions whether border communities benefit or suffer from globalization and, in doing so, it addresses the impacts of globalization on border communities. Second, an attempt is made to explain these impacts by studying the democratic quality of border integration processes. Thus, globalization is examined as a system in which the benefits are distributed or concentrated according to the quality of the integration processes. [less ▲]

Addressing seeming paradoxes by embracing them: small state theory and the integration of migrants

in Comparative Migration Studies (2021), 9

This article examines the integration of migrants in Luxembourg within the framework of small state theory. Within the comparative scholarship on migration, small states are often presented as “success ... [more ▼]

This article examines the integration of migrants in Luxembourg within the framework of small state theory. Within the comparative scholarship on migration, small states are often presented as “success stories.” This research questions this assumption and empirical data presented here indicates that many contradictions exist within Luxembourg’s migrant integration model. The country’s “success” in fact does not reflect the levels of integration of migrants nationally as significant inequalities are present in Luxembourg. However, the analysis of Luxembourg presented here illustrates how small states have coherently embraced many paradoxes that are inherent to integration strategies throughout Europe with the goal of promoting peaceful coexistence. [less ▲]

Why serve soup with a fork?: How policy coherence for development can link environmental impact assessment with the 2030 agenda for sustainable development

in Environmental Impact Assessment Review (2021), 86

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) re-focused development cooperation on universal and transformative development aimed at improving the quality of life of people in all world regions, while ... [more ▼]

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) re-focused development cooperation on universal and transformative development aimed at improving the quality of life of people in all world regions, while simultaneously conserving natural resources. Critics, however, have correctly questioned whether appropriate policy methods and tools exist for the adequate implementation of transformative development. These challenges are even more significant given that the implementation of the SDGs falls to nation-states. This article asks “Can the transformative development promoted by the SDG’s be achieved through the policy tools presently utilized by nation-states, such as environmental impact assessment (EIA)?” The study responds to this question through a critical examination of EIA in Mexico in relation to mining. Empirical analysis focuses on the proposed Caballo Blanco open-pit mine in Veracruz state. The case can be considered critical because it is often presented as a success, given that a broad coalition of actors prevented the mine from opening through activities directed at EIA. This article questions this narrative because it shows how EIA actually can undermine transformative development through the use of cost-benefit logics. The article concludes that policy coherence for development (PCD) can potentially support EIA as a methodology through which transformative development can be promoted. PCD can improve the “normative effectiveness” of EIA when used as an evaluation criteria. Otherwise, EIA may undermine the implementation of the SDGs which would be comparable to serving soup with a fork. [less ▲]

Migration Security

in Tan, See Sang; Christiansen, Thomas; Kirchner, Emil (Eds.) The European Union’s Security Relations with Asian Powers (2021)

Migration has recently been framed as a threat to security in many parts of the world. Numerous advanced industrial states have in fact, securitized migration by implementing measures to control and even ... [more ▼]

Migration has recently been framed as a threat to security in many parts of the world. Numerous advanced industrial states have in fact, securitized migration by implementing measures to control and even extend external borders, through increased policing and financial contributions to neighbouring countries that are linked to migration control strategies. This process has led to the spread of formal and informal regionalization strategies in migration affairs. However, levels and types of securitization of migration reflect different perspectives on regional integration. This chapter compares migration governance in Europe and Asia and illustrates how relatively uniform regionalization in Europe has led to institutionalized responses promoting securitization whereas the divergent bottom-up approach to regionalism in Asia has resulted in significant policy variation amongst Asian states. Consequently, Asia’s seeming patchwork response differs from the European Union’s blanket approach, thus impeding close inter-regional collaboration in this policy arena. [less ▲]

Ten years of re-thinking regions from citizens’ perspectives

in Regions & Cohesion (2020), 10(3), -

This special issue commemorating Regions & Cohesion’s tenth anniversary continues the tradition described herein. Entitled “Re-thinking regions: A citizen perspective,” it has been conceptualized and ... [more ▼]

This special issue commemorating Regions & Cohesion’s tenth anniversary continues the tradition described herein. Entitled “Re-thinking regions: A citizen perspective,” it has been conceptualized and coordinated by the journal’s editors, associate editors, and editorial manager. We thank the contributing authors for accepting the challenge to respond to any of the following provocative questions: What contributed to the perceived decline of regions in global affairs? How can regions recover from this perceived decline? How can supranational, transnational, or sub-national regions respond better to the needs of citizens? How can regions better support the Sustainable Development Goals and the transformative development that they pursue? How can regions promote more sustainable usage of natural resources? What roles can regions play in global affairs in the near- to medium-term future? The articles published here provide a snapshot of the state of regional integration in the world today. These articles also engage the field of regional studies, discuss its strengths and weaknesses, and indicate interesting paths for future scholarship. We thank the authors for these proposed ways forward. [less ▲]

Guidelines for Operationalizing Policy Coherence for Development (PCD) as a Methodology for the Design and Implementation of Sustainable Development Strategies

in Sustainability (2020), 12(4055), 1-23

Policy Coherence for Development (PCD) is considered a pillar of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. It aims to promote whole of government approaches to sustainable development. Despite its ... [more ▼]

Policy Coherence for Development (PCD) is considered a pillar of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. It aims to promote whole of government approaches to sustainable development. Despite its prominence in development cooperation discussions, many national development professionals or stakeholders have not heard of PCD, indicating that its effectiveness is significantly limited. This article contends that the impact of PCD has not been maximized because it has been presented as a political objective or a policy tool by multilateral organizations and their member states. Instead, the article argues that PCD should be implemented as a methodology that can be adopted by domestic government and non-governmental actors alike, in order to understand trade-offs and co-benefits within and between policy sectors, thus promoting a participative approach. I-GAMMA is a research project in Mexico that examines data-driven public policy in order to promote PCD. It is based on in-depth reviews of policy documents and interviews with development actors. It is committed to open data, evidence-based policymaking, and collaborative dialogue between academics, government officials, and representatives of civil society organizations in sustainable development discussions. In the results section of this article, the project proposes participative PCD as a methodology for policy analysis through which a plurality of actors can identify mechanisms that either reinforce or undermine sustainable development strategies. This section then applies the methodology to the governance of protected natural areas in Mexico. The discussion section and the conclusions highlight the relevance of this approach for participative policymaking in sustainable development. [less ▲]