Despite the large number of regional and global summits there is very little known about the functioning and impact of this particular type of diplomatic practice. While recognizing that the growing importance of summits is a universal phenomenon, this volume takes advantage of the richness of the Americas experiment to offer a theoretically grounded comparative analysis of contemporary summitry. The book addresses questions such as: How effective have summits been ? How have civil society and other non-state actors been involved in summits? How have summits impacted on the management of regional affairs? Filling a significant void in the literature, this volume offers an original contribution helping to understand how summitry has become a central feature of world politics. It will be of great interest to students and scholars of diplomacy, international organizations, and global/regional governance.

Empirically rich with highly detailed case studies on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), this comprehensive volume studies the relationship between regionalism and state behavior. The traditional pattern of past studies of regionalism and regional integration has been to understand how state strategies molded the dynamics of an integration process. This study examines the impact of regionalism on the policy preferences of member states. This volume offers three theoretical contributions: an empirical test of the convergence hypothesis studies of institutions and their impact on domestic politics an examination of foreign policy preferences and the neo-functionalist concept of 'spill-over' Recommended reading for students of regionalism, international political economy, international trade, foreign policy and North American studies.

Empirically rich with highly detailed case studies on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), this comprehensive volume studies the relationship between regionalism and state behavior. The traditional pattern of past studies of regionalism and regional integration has been to understand how state strategies molded the dynamics of an integration process. This study examines the impact of regionalism on the policy preferences of member states. This volume offers three theoretical contributions: an empirical test of the convergence hypothesis studies of institutions and their impact on domestic politics an examination of foreign policy preferences and the neo-functionalist concept of 'spill-over' Recommended reading for students of regionalism, international political economy, international trade, foreign policy and North American studies.

Despite the large number of regional and global summits there is very little known about the functioning and impact of this particular type of diplomatic practice. While recognizing that the growing importance of summits is a universal phenomenon, this volume takes advantage of the richness of the Americas experiment to offer a theoretically grounded comparative analysis of contemporary summitry. The book addresses questions such as: How effective have summits been ? How have civil society and other non-state actors been involved in summits? How have summits impacted on the management of regional affairs? Filling a significant void in the literature, this volume offers an original contribution helping to understand how summitry has become a central feature of world politics. It will be of great interest to students and scholars of diplomacy, international organizations, and global/regional governance.