ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the social dimension of democratisation. It shows how – by developing a focused comparison with the Spanish transition to democracy – the absence of a clear sociocultural dimension in the process of North American integration played a part in Mexico's democratisation 'from below'. The chapter provides an overview of the way North American Free Trade Agreement dealt with the social and cultural consequences of economic integration. It argues that the process of North American regionalisation failed to have a direct positive effect in terms of Mexico's 'bottom up' democratisation – although some developments in terms of strengthening civil society can be linked to North American integration. The many problems that can be directly traced to the nature of the Mexican transitions make it necessary to reconsider the role society played in the process. Common identities can be constructed from below by increasing interactions between societies, as well as from above by introducing policies that emphasise similarities.
