Maquiladoras and National Security: Design Theory as a Guide

Abstract

The Mexican maquiladora industry is rapidly losing market share to Asian competitors that dramatically undercut them in terms of labor costs. The decline of these assembly-for-export factories will result in instability along the U.S.-Mexico border and will prove to be a serious national security issue for the United States. This paper leverages Design Theory to frame the problems surrounding Mexico's maquiladora industry to develop an understanding of this complex adaptive system. It examines the wide range of actors involved in the system, focusing on their goals, motivations, and conflicting tendencies. Finally, the paper recommends courses of action for U.S. and Mexican leaders that will mitigate the resulting instability in the Mexican northern border states.

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Oct 25, 2011
Accession Number
ADA555400

Entities

People

  • Stanley J. Rapiey

Organizations

  • Naval War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Adaptive Systems
  • Assembly
  • Commerce
  • Complex Adaptive Systems
  • Employment
  • Geography
  • Governments
  • Law
  • Mexico
  • Motivation
  • National Security
  • North America
  • Public Administration
  • Public Policy
  • Security
  • United States
  • War Colleges

Readers

  • Economics
  • International Relations and European Studies
  • Strategic Security Studies