Abstract

WENNMANN, Achim. Rediseñar el Estado mexicano: perspectivas internacionales. Intersticios sociales [online]. 2013, n.5, pp.1-26. ISSN 2007-4964.

The categorization of Mexico as a failed state by the United States in late 2008 created an emotional response in Mexico. Taking this instance as a starting point, this article reviews different international scholarly debates on state fragility and statebuilding as a means to demystify the notions of state failure and collapse for the Mexican context. This is particularly timely as the beginning of Enrique Peña Nieto's Presidency may provide new opportunities to rebuild the State at various levels in Mexico. The article tracks the evolution and historical context of the fragile states discourse and analyzes various donor definitions of the State. It also argues that these definitions suffer a historical disconnect that is illustrated by the gap between the assumption of an idealized liberal state in statebuilding practice and the historical evidence of european and african state formation. The consequence of this disconnect is that policy-makers find it difficult to identify additional entry points for statebuilding at the sub-national level, as described in the scholarly literature on the political and economic logics of state fragility, hybrid political orders, the political market place, and the mediated state. Overall, the article emphasises the need to distinguish between top-down and bottom-up statebuilding and proposes elements for a political process required to advance statebuilding in Mexico.

Keywords : statebuilding; fragile States; hybrid political orders; political transition; Mexico.

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