Mexican Yearbook of Global Affairs

Diplomatic Relations between Mexico and Canada

María Elena Pompa Dávalos — 2025-10-12

In 2024, Mexico and Canada commemorated eighty years of official relations, characterized by a focus on investment and trade, within a framework of public diplomacy shaped initially by the interests of Great Britain and later by the interdependence imposed by U.S. hegemony. The strategic nature of the relationship has been fundamentally economic. The current context—marked by an imminent trade war and a reorganization of the geopolitical order driven by Donald Trump’s vision during his second administration—raises a series of questions for the future of the bilateral relationship.

Chronicle of Donald Trump’s 2024 Election

María Isabel Medina Ruiz — 2025-10-12

Donald Trump made history as the second candidate in United States history to win non-consecutive presidential nominations. The margin of victory was more decisive than expected, and Trump became the first Republican to win both the Electoral College and the popular vote since George W. Bush in 2004; he also garnered support from some minority groups, including African Americans and Latinos. Donald Trump’s campaign was the most openly racist and intolerant in modern U.S. history. His slogan Make America Great Again (MAGA) was founded on the belief that the United States was once a “great” nation but had lost that status due to foreign influence—both within its borders, through immigration and multiculturalism, and beyond them, through globalization and the growing integration of multiple national economies. Moreover, during the campaign, through videos shared on YouTube, Meta platforms, and others, he coined the term “Agenda 47,” referring to his desire to become the 47th president and to position himself in opposition to the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda. With his 312 electoral votes, Trump achieved the best Electoral College result for a Republican candidate in decades. Likewise, he became the most-voted Republican candidate in U.S. history and the second most-voted president overall, behind Joe Biden. The following section presents the most relevant events throughout his campaign and electoral victory.

Chronicle on the Arrest Warrant Against Benjamin Netanyahu

Lucero de Jesús Ruiz Guzmán — 2025-10-12

The International Criminal Court (ICC or the Court) has initiated proceedings against Benjamin Netanyahu, who served (and continues to serve) as Prime Minister of Israel at the time of the conduct deemed legally relevant. He is considered allegedly responsible for war crimes arising from the use of starvation as a method of warfare and for intentionally directing attacks against the civilian population. These acts amount to crimes against humanity, including murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts, committed from at least October 8, 2023, to May 20, 2024 (ICC, 2025).

This decision is regarded as one of the most significant in the Court’s exercise of jurisdiction, particularly in light of ongoing criticisms regarding its efficiency and effectiveness. Although the ruling does not itself confer legitimacy upon the tribunal, it does convey a strong message regarding universality, justice, and the rejection of impunity. The following lines provide a detailed account of the actions undertaken.

Senegal in 2024: Elections, Crisis, and Continuity

Juan Luis Tron Flores — 2025-10-12

Senegal is currently one of the most important countries on the African continent. Located at the westernmost edge of the Sahel, it is a member of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the African Union (AU), and other major international organizations. In recent years, it has gained international prominence as a center of regional stability and a benchmark for institutional and democratic governance. This reputation is not coincidental; since gaining independence in 1960, the country has managed to consolidate a pluralistic political system, successfully avoiding a phenomenon that has repeatedly affected the region—military coups (Amegan, 2016).

Introduction (Spanish)

Alberto Lozano Vázquez — 2025-10-12

This year, 2025, the Mexican Yearbook of Global Affairs (AMAG) publishes its third volume (2024) in the midst of a global political scenario that remains convulsed. The armed confrontation between Russia and Ukraine has not ceased since 2022; the very tense conflict between Israel and Palestine which, instead of improving, has worsened; the humanitarian crisis in Sudan caused by civil war and the intensification of conflict within the Democratic Republic of Congo which are, among others, two scourges afflicting Africa; the passage from complexity to ultra-complexity in the Mexico–United States relationship; the political ups and downs of Europe under the current U.S. leadership; the polarization of U.S. society following the assassination of a conservative activist at a university; episodic geopolitical tensions in the disputed South China Sea; and the slow but visible changes in the world order with the new Cold War between the U.S. and China, compounded by the increasingly relevant variables of artificial intelligence, cyber warfare, and environmental impacts.

Introduction (English)

Alberto Lozano Vázquez — 2025-10-12

Introduction (French)

Alberto Lozano Vázquez — 2025-10-12

Introduction (Chinese)

Alberto Lozano Vázquez — 2025-10-12

Indicators

Marco Antonio Guadarrama Vega — 2025-10-12

Our Indicators section provides data that are essential for informed decision-making.

Multimedia Files

Mexican Yearbook of Global Affairs — 2025-10-12

Missing Voices:Latin American Perspectives in International Relations [Spanish]

International Studies Association (2024). Missing Voices: Latin American Perspectives in International Relations [Spanish]. [@intlstudiesassociation]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/xghq0-sr6N8?si=xR0aH-41eNfAhfNk

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War and International Politics | John Mearsheimer | NDISC Seminar Series

Notre Dame International Security Center (2024). War and International Politics | John Mearsheimer | NDISC Seminar Series. [@NDISC]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/takl4fei1pQ?si=Ikk3R9IJo0tcGeRK

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John Mearsheimer and Jeffrey Sachs | All-In Summit 2024

All-In Podcast (2024). John Mearsheimer and Jeffrey Sachs | All-In Summit 2024. [@allin]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvFtyDy_Bt0

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An Introduction to Theda Skocpol’s States and Social Revolutions - A Macat Politics Analysis

Macat (2016). An Introduction to Theda Skocpol’s States and Social Revolutions - A Macat Politics Analysis. [@MacatEdu]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/z2KN9yWTRpo

Interview with Dr. Brian C. Schmidt (English)

José Ricardo Villanueva Lira — 2025-10-12

Interview Sections:

Presentation and Academic Career
History and Disciplinary Relevance
Myths and the First Great Debate
Women and Gender in the History of IR
Tendencies of Revisionism
Relevance of the History of International Thought
Advice for Latin American Students

Watch interview recording

Interview with Dr. Brian C. Schmidt (Spanish)

José Ricardo Villanueva Lira — 2025-10-12

Interview Sections:

Presentation and Academic Career
History and Disciplinary Relevance
Myths and the First Great Debate
Women and Gender in the History of IR
Tendencies of Revisionism
Relevance of the History of International Thought
Advice for Latin American Students

Watch interview recording

Alonso Serna, L. & Telledos Sánchez, E. (2024). Political Economy of Renewable Energies in Latin America. CLACSO. Buenos Aires. 257 pp.

Pedro González Olvera — 2025-10-12

In the face of the imminent depletion of fossil fuels in the near future, humanity has accelerated the search for alternatives that can ensure both its survival and the continuity of the industries sustaining the global economy. These industries encompass immensely powerful corporations that emerged within the framework of capitalism, as well as companies representing the potential to transform production systems in all their dimensions. Such transformations extend not only to the manufacture of goods —including superfluous ones— but also to the provision of essential goods and services that guarantee a minimum level of well-being in the daily lives of the world’s poorest populations. Regardless of their size or power, all companies depend on energy; however, some explore, extract, and trade energy resources in pursuit of immeasurable profits, even when doing so comes at the expense of the very communities in which they operate.

Arguelles Arredondo, C. G., Camarillo Govea, L. A., Cattafi, C., and Morales Ramírez, D. (Coords.). Contemporary International Law: Selected Topics. Mexico: AMEI. 272 pp.

Mayra Lizbeth Argüelles Herrera — 2025-10-12

The work entitled Contemporary International Law: Selected Topics contains the study and analysis carried out by various authors on some of the many branches that make up International Law, such as International Human Rights Law, International Migration Law, and International Space Law, among others. The importance of this book lies not only in the topics selected, but also in the fact that each is approached from different perspectives based on current international dynamics.

Hannah Arendt and the Origins of Global Environmental Politics

Kelly Carolina Amador Lavariega — 2025-10-12

The traditional historical narrative regarding the emergence of environmental studies within the field of International Relations (IR) situates its origin in the 1960s. However, this perspective overlooks significant contributions made by international thinkers prior to that conventional date. This research aims to analyze Hannah Arendt’s contributions to environmental thought from an international perspective, positioning her as a relevant antecedent to the subfield of Global Environmental Politics (GEP) before 1960. Adopting a revisionist approach, this study conducts a critical review of her work The Human Condition (1958). Through an analysis of the concept of vita activa—composed of labor, work, and action—it demonstrates how Arendt anticipated ideas now associated with sustainability and the Anthropocene. By recovering these contributions, this research broadens the historical understanding of international engagement with environmental issues and challenges disciplinary narratives that have overlooked these foundational contributions.

The crisis of globalization and the new global geopolitical balances between the United States and China: 2020–2025

Raúl Benítez Manaut — 2025-10-12

This article analyzes the main classical theories on international trade and how they are being challenged by their two main promoters: Great Britain and the United States. It describes how both powers are questioning the fundamental principles that have sustained them for 200 years. With Brexit and Donald Trump’s rise to the US presidency in 2017 and January 2025, so-called new nationalisms are emerging. British leaders are separating from Europe and Trump is starting a tariff war, identifying China as his main enemy. Secondly, it describes how the deep crisis in the globalization process between 2020 and 2025 constitutes a “strategic ambiguity” in the Western powers. This crisis manifests itself both in the changes in the geo-economic and geopolitical alliances between the world’s major powers and in their individual positions with regard to developing countries. Internally, in many countries, political polarization is calling into question liberal globalization and the foundations of international trade, through new national ideologies in powers seeking to regain past leadership, reviving militaristic careers in the present. Another factor analyzed is that the two conflicts prevailing in 2025 affect regional balances with a high impact on global geopolitics. These are Russia’s war against Ukraine, which began on February 24, 2022, and the conflict in Gaza between Israel and the terrorist group Hamas, which began on October 7, 2024. Therefore, the question arises throughout this essay: Is the globalization of the so-called Western world in terminal crisis, or are the mechanisms of negotiation between the superpowers and the way of configuring new power blocs between them simply being reformulated? Will the United States be able to rebuild its economy and China be prepared to increase its global influence?

Russia’s geopolitics in the current international scenario and the Ukrainian conflict

Ana Teresa Gutiérrez Del Cid — 2025-10-12

During periods of change in the processes of the global economic structure, a profound destabilization of the system of international relations occurs in the course of the destruction of the old world order and the formation of a new world order. The possibilities for socioeconomic development based on the existing system of institutions and technologies are being exhausted. Meanwhile, on the periphery of the global economic system, a new, more effective system for managing the development of economies is emerging. Therefore, the lamentable situation in Europe and the world may resemble the situation that led to the First World War, since the Soviet Union no longer exists, and the struggle between great powers is no longer for an ideology, but for commercial and geopolitical interests between powers. Due to this situation, Ukraine is now the focal point where the interests of the relatively declining international system and the new international actors emerging in the BRICS group are being debated. This is a conflict in which the countries of the European Union and the United States are participating to weaken one of the BRICS countries, Russia, with the strategy of disintegrating Russian territory, full of natural resources, and thus, with these resources in the hands of the West, confront China, the country that the West considers a threat to its global hegemony.

The geopolitics and geoeconomics of the Middle East through multimodal corridors

Rubén Paredes Rodríguez — 2025-10-12

In an international context where the dispute between East and West reflects an emerging multipolar order, multimodal corridors have become a new arena of international competition. Thus, the Middle East has redefined its international role, becoming a strategic and central hub for multidimensional connectivity initiatives. In this regard, the projection of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Russia’s International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), and the India-Middle East-Europe Corridor (IMEC) proposed by the United States and Europe highlights the geopolitical and geoeconomic competition over the region. Considering this, the present study aims to examine the overlap of multimodal corridors projected onto the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) from both the East and the West. The countries in the region, far from being passive actors, pursue their own interests and establish multiple alignments to mitigate risks. In the interaction between geopolitical project formulators—who employ various geoeconomic instruments—and regional actors, one key yet scarce condition is necessary for success: stability, a resource as rare in the region as water itself.

Beyond Geography: A Constructivist Analysis of Mexico’s Engagement with the Asia-Pacific

Isaac Flores Delgado — 2025-10-12

This essay undertakes a comprehensive analysis of Mexico’s evolving foreign policy toward the Asia-Pacific region, situating its examination within the broader context of global economic reconfiguration and Mexico’s strategic ambition to diversify beyond its traditional North American orientation. From a constructivist perspective, it argues that Mexico’s foreign policy identity has been historically shaped by its geographic proximity and institutional ties to the United States and Canada, a dynamic that has systematically marginalized Asia-Pacific within its diplomatic agenda. Despite this marginalization, the Asia-Pacific’s accelerated economic growth, expanding middle class, and technological leadership present considerable opportunities for Mexico’s economic diplomacy in areas such as trade, investment, and scientific collaboration. The paper evaluates institutional mechanisms, including the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Pacific Alliance, as potential platforms for deeper engagement, while acknowledging persistent structural and ideational challenges—such as geographic distance, cultural asymmetries, and the absence of robust epistemic communities. By employing a constructivist framework, this research addresses a notable gap in the literature, which has traditionally prioritized Mexico’s relations with North and Latin America, leaving its Asia-Pacific engagement underexplored and often treated as peripheral. The paper ultimately calls for a strategic reconfiguration of Mexico’s foreign policy narrative, positioning Asia-Pacific not merely as a commercial market but as a region of enduring strategic significance. This requires sustained normative engagement, diplomatic innovation, and strengthened institutional capacity. Such a reorientation would enhance Mexico’s global agency, reduce its structural dependence on the North American market, and position the country to more effectively participate in the evolving economic and geopolitical dynamics of the twenty-first century.

Regional integration in Latin America: four theoretical interpretations

Carlos Gabriel Argüelles Arredondo — 2025-10-12

The regional integration of Latin America, and particularly the Pacific Alliance, are study variables that International Relations theories can address. Indeed, realism, liberalism, constructivism, and integration theory are addressed in this article with the aim of providing a theoretical framework for the contemporary phenomena and processes that the Pacific Alliance represents as a mechanism of integration in Latin America. The anticipated conclusion is that International Relations theories can be applied to the Pacific Alliance, particularly those presented in this study, as they are among the most representative in the intellectual sphere of this discipline.

Argentina’s Foreign Policy under the Government of Mauricio Macri (2015–2019)

María Elena Lorenzini — 2025-10-12

This study examines Argentine foreign policy under Mauricio Macri (2015–2019), focusing on the beliefs that shaped its design and influenced the selection of priorities and key international relationships. In this regard, the research question asks: How did the beliefs of the Macri administration (2015–2019) influence the design and implementation of Argentine foreign policy? Hence, this research highlights the central role of ideas in understanding foreign policy, especially when they undergo changes. In this sense, it is argued that foreign policy during this period exhibited distinctive features that reshaped Argentina’s international worldview, external priorities, and key relationships for international engagement. The relevance of these ideas persists in contemporary debates on Argentine foreign policy and, despite the dissolution of the Cambiemos coalition, they continue to exert significant influence on the Argentine political landscape.

International Cooperation and the Participation of International Organizations in the Face of Global Crises

Ana Luisa Ramírez Soto — 2025-10-12

In today’s globalized world, global health has become a key priority on the international agenda. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the limitations of existing institutional frameworks to effectively respond to global health crises, particularly in cross-border regions such as Tijuana-San Diego. This essay analyzes the relationship between global health and international organizations, with a focus on the role of the World Health Organization and the challenges faced by Mexico and the United States in jointly managing the pandemic in this binational context. Through five sections, the paper explores the concept of global health, the relevance of international organizations, the specific dynamics of the Tijuana-San Diego border region, and the impact of COVID-19 on this area. The analysis concludes that, despite ongoing efforts, structural and political challenges remain that hinder effective and coordinated cooperation during global health emergencies.

Strategic Voids in International Cooperation

J. Miguel Escobedo De la Torre — 2025-10-12

This essay explores the concept of strategic voids in international cooperation and environmental justice, analyzing how these voids serve as tools for hegemonic actors to exert subtle control over global politics, perpetuating systemic inequalities. Strategic voids are deliberate, state-centric gaps left unaddressed in international governance, which hegemonic actors exploit to consolidate their influence. Drawing on power theories by Robert Dahl, Steven Lukes, and Joseph Nye, as well as philosophical concepts from Hegel, Feuerbach, and Nietzsche, the essay examines how these voids reinforce existing power dynamics, contributing to environmental injustice, while allowing hegemonic forces to maintain dominance. In response, the essay proposes specific approaches. One is the development of multi-level governance frameworks that promote participation and inclusive decision-making at both local and global scales, decentralizing power and ensuring greater inclusion of vulnerable communities. It also advocates for redefined global responsibility through incentive-based reward mechanisms, encouraging states, corporations, and organizations to adopt more sustainable practices. This shift moves from punitive centered measures to proactive incentives that align with long-term environmental goals, promoting a cooperative approach to addressing climate issues. Additionally, the essay calls for the exploration of regional climate agreements tailored to the unique challenges of neighboring states, fostering collaboration and addressing cross-border environmental issues. These proposals aim to analyze strategic voids as potential spaces for dialogue and effective international cooperation, with a view to addressing the root causes of environmental injustice. The paper emphasizes the need for critical and epistemological vigilance over the structures and key actors in international relations, as well as the importance of inclusive participation in global decision-making. It concludes by calling for a transformation of governance models toward more just and sustainable frameworks that prioritize both environmental protection and social equity. Such shifts could contribute to moving towards an international system that more effectively addresses issues of justice, while acknowledging the challenges involved.

Analysis of the Impact on Energy Demand Resulting from the Use of Artificial Intelligence

Aldo Hiram Flores Duarte — 2025-10-12

Currently, the demand for data centers is growing rapidly worldwide, as is the demand for energy. A key factor of this growing demand for energy is directly related to Artificial Intelligence, specifically in the training of its generative model, requiring the processing of big data sets for long periods of time. The objective of this paper is to explore information about energy demand trends and artificial intelligence, based on estimates and/or projections forecasts from different research sources. The text highlights that this connection between data and electricity underscores the need for a robust, reliable and diverse energy infrastructure that will adequately respond to the growing demand of modern data centers. At the same time, it recognizes that significant uncertainty remains about the future impact of Artificial Intelligence, since the technology must overcome numerous challenges that are likely to constrain its deployment and development in the coming years; within this context, technology companies emerge as the most important energy actors. This report is based on the analysis of new datasets and consultations with policymakers, the energy sector, the energy industry, and international experts.

International Relations in the Digital Era

Abdiel Hernández Mendoza — 2025-10-12

International Relations face unprecedented epistemological and practical challenges in the digital age, characterized by uncertainty, complexity, and volatility. This chapter analyzes these challenges using a transductive, geopolitical, and geoeconomic methodology, arguing that technological transitions reconfigure spaces of materiality and power, giving rise to new forms of confrontation, multidimensional crises, and strategic competition. The analysis identifies that digitality strains traditional theoretical frameworks, generates ethical-legal dilemmas surrounding privacy and data, and amplifies algorithmic biases and North-South power asymmetries. Case studies such as the conflict in Ukraine, China’s Belt and Road Initiative, and the exploitation of critical resources in Africa illustrate this reconfiguration. It concludes that International Relations must adopt an interdisciplinary and critical approach, building epistemologies from the Global South, to explain and transform the dynamics of a hyper-connected yet profoundly unequal world.

Artificial Intelligence and the Global World

Eduardo Roldán — 2025-10-12

This essay analyzes the decisions made by international actors involved in the processes of the digital world, and in particular, the use of artificial intelligence. The conflict between China and the US has highlighted the tension inherent in the use of artificial intelligence and its potential to improve productivity. At the same time, investors like Microsoft and venture capital giant Sequoia do not want to slow down the development of this technology while competitors like Google and Chinese companies accelerate it. In addition to all these facts, Stephen Hawking’s approaches regarding our new technological realities must be taken into account. Ideas that are also shared by the former Vice president of Google, Geoffrey Hinton, stating that: “If there is any way to control artificial intelligence, we must discover it before it is too late.”

Toward a Historical Sociology of International Relations from Mexico

Salimah Mónica G. Cossens González — 2025-10-12

This article raises the ontological and epistemological problem that explains why International Relations (IR) is not a truly global discipline, as it fails to represent the experiences of all its actors, whether in terms of scalarity (a plurality of collective actors) or geotemporality. It also seeks to demonstrate, through an interdisciplinary documentary analysis, how time is the great consolidator of the deepest structures of the international system. It therefore advocates the application of Historical Sociology on research conducted in this field of knowledge, considering it an ideal theoretical and methodological framework for uncovering these deep structures and confronting their theories. Finally, it observes how research from a critical sociohistorical perspective in Mexico, which incorporates archaeology as an auxiliary science, can distinguish itself from other epistemological schools by verifying the agency of autonomous pre-state political units in a country’s international experience and thus highlighting its distinctive elements in the various historical periods in which the sociopolitical fabric of a state was formed.This contributes to efforts from Public Diplomacy to project Mexico as an inclusive and peaceful actor.

Culture, Human Rights, and Gender Equity in International Relations

David J. Sarquís — 2025-10-12

This work explores the cultural dimension of international relations and the impact it has in terms of interaction with the otherness. Culture, as a way of life, more so than a mere accumulation of knowledge, is an essential factor to understand the way in which human groups become integrated, are preserved or finally fragmented. At the international level, it is one of the main causes of conflict, but also, through hybridization processes it is an important factor of integration of international systems in transit to international societies. The topics of human rights and gender equity, both intricately interconnected, have strong cultural roots, causing angry controversies regarding their meaning and scope in a globalized world. The problematic contemporary international agenda requires a cultural consensus to enhance the horizon for the ideals of human rights and gender equity to promote a stronger stability for our turbulent current international system.

Huatulco: Global Human Settlement Layer (GHSL) as a Viable Tool for the Present and the Future

Edith Galván Ochoa — 2025-10-12

The objective is to research the scientific literature to build a theoretical framework that supports the application of the Global Human Settlement Layer as a viable tool in the coastal urban tourism center of Huatulco, located in the municipality of Santa María Huatulco, Oaxaca State, Mexico. Specifically, it aims to identify scientific studies that have used the layer, in order to determine its applicability and limitations in urban planning in this region. The fundamental purpose of this work is to use open source tools at no cost to society at large, promoting their use for the collective benefit through knowledge and public access. The methodology outlined by the authors uses an open-source search engine on the Internet, based on the premise that scientific information is a public good. To analyze the scientific literature, a tabular format was used to select paradigms relevant to the reality of human settlement in this geographic context. Thirty-two scientific journals were searched and reviewed. The questions are: What theoretical contexts have been used in previous studies to apply the Global Human Settlement Layer in geographic and socioeconomic areas similar to the central tourist settlement of Huatulco? And where are the study areas of the scientific literature search similar to Huatulco located? The results confirm the validity and scientific rigor of the open-source site searches. The use of Symbol Learning (SML) and explicitly structured logical rules to derive knowledge from the data.