ABSTRACT
What difference does the “Anglo-American” connection make to relations between states, and how exactly does it make that difference? Others have looked for answers by starting with the US–UK relationship and moving on to compare with other pairs. 2 We think we can get new perspective on the way the United States relates to the world, and more specifically about how the USA fits into “the West,” through a focused comparison of the US–Canada and US–Mexico relationships. On the face of it, the comparison is straightforward: Canada and Mexico are both next-door neighbors to the USA, both dependent on the USA for security and economic growth, and both deeply interspersed demographically with American society. But whereas Canada shares in the same “Anglo-American” heritage as the USA, and US–Canada relations have historically been close and cooperative, Mexico comes out of an entirely different tradition – “western,” but not “Anglo” – and US–Mexico relations have historically been distant and mutually exasperating. This first-glance characterization does capture some of the essential differences, but it misses some of the most interesting aspects in each of these complex and subtle diplomatic relationships. Each is characterized by both attraction and repulsion, and in each case, these conflicting impulses are reflective of underlying tensions within each society’s concept of itself and its place in the world.
