Decline and Adaptation: Borders as Process and the Organizational Dynamics of Border Health in Crisis

Abstract

ABSTRACT How to manage collective action across borders to address shared transborder problems is an ongoing challenge. This study presents a qualitative longitudinal analysis of the organizational history of the U.S.-Mexico border health field during a critical period spanning from 2000 to 2022. It analyzes a process of interorganizational competition, organizational failure, and field contraction followed by new network formation during the COVID-19 pandemic. I argue that policymakers should consider the relational dynamics of organizations as they develop transborder collective action to address shared problems. The research demonstrates the utility of integrating purpose-oriented network and organizational field concepts into borders as process theory which enhances our understanding of how interorganizational relationships mediate debordering and rebordering processes.