Global Stance Research Articles

Do commodity prices matter for global systemic risk? Evidence from ML variable selection

We identify robust predictors of global systemic risk proxied by conditional capital shortfall (SRISK) among a comprehensive set of commodity prices for the period between January 2004 and December 2021. The search is based on a battery of ML variable selection algorithms which apply both to price levels and price shocks in the presence of control variables, including the first lag of SRISK, world industrial production, global economic policy uncertainty, geopolitical risk as well as the global stance of monetary and macroprudential policies. We find that these controls outweigh commodity prices as the predictors of global systemic risk. Of the commodities themselves, the prices for agricultural commodities, including food, e.g. chicken, bananas, beef, tea, cocoa, are more important predictors of global systemic risk than the prices for energy commodities, e.g. natural gas and oil prices. The financialization of agricultural commodities, bio-energy expansion as well as commodity-specific dependence of the major economies contributing to global systemic risk, e.g. China, account for our main finding. We also document the positive linkage between commodity prices and systemic risk for the majority of commodities. Thus, monitoring commodity prices to avoid their unbalanced growth is of vast importance to curb global systemic financial risk.

Gender-driven thyroid dysfunction in systemic lupus erythematosus patients: Clinical significance of an overlooked association and global stance

Aim of the workThis study aimed to determine the association of thyroid dysfunction in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients. Patients and methodsOut of a cohort including 312 adult SLE patients those with thyroid dysfunction (n = 53) were further evaluated. The medical history, clinical examination, laboratory investigations and medications received were recorded. The SLICC damage index (SLICC-DI) was assessed. ResultsThyroid dysfunction formed 17 % of the patients and their mean age was 39.5 ± 11.5 years and disease duration 5.6 ± 3.3 years were comparable to those without thyroid disorder, however female gender was predominantly higher (F:M 52:1 vs 6.2:1, p < 0.0001). The frequency of thyroid dysfunction was alike in Saudi (16 %) and non-Saudi (17.9 %) patients (p = 0.66). The majority of cases (96.2 %) had hypothyroidism, one with autoimmune thyroiditis, while only 2 (3.8 %) had hyperthyroidism. There was a significantly increased frequency of associated neuropsychiatric manifestations (64.2 % vs 45.2 %;p = 0.012), and hematological involvement (32.1 % vs 14.3 %; p = 0.011) and less complement (C4) consumption (15.1 % vs 23.6 %; p = 0.048) in those with thyroid dysfunction compared to those without. The frequency of anti-double stranded deoxyribonucleic acid (anti-dsDNA) positivity tended to be higher (71.7 % vs 66.8 %) and its titre significantly lower (316.3 ± 319.8 IU/ml vs 461.3 ± 459.1; p = 0.013). The SLICC-DI and mortality rate were comparable between groups. Only the presence of proteinuria inversely significantly correlated with the level of T4 (r = -0.31, p = 0.007). ConclusionThyroid dysfunction forms a notable percentage of SLE patients with a prominent female gender propensity. The significant relation of thyroid disorders to neuropsychiatric manifestations, hematological involvement, C4 consumption and anti-dsDNA deserves recognition.

Examining the cultural influence on online stances towards COVID-19 preventive measures and their impact on incidence and mortality: A global stance detection analysis of tweets

During the COVID-19 pandemic, nations implemented various preventive measures, triggering varying online responses. This study examines cultural influences on public online stances toward these measures and their impacts on COVID-19 cases/deaths. Stance detection analysis was used to analyze 16,428,557 Tweets regarding COVID-19 preventive measures from 95 countries, selected based on Hofstede's cultural dimensions. To ensure the variety of population, countries were chosen based on Twitter data availability and a minimum sample size of 385 tweets, achieving a 95% confidence level with a 5% margin of error. The weighted regression analysis revealed that the relationship between culture and online stances depends on the cultural congruence of each measure. Specifically, power distance positively predicted stances for all measures, while indulgence had a negative effect overall. Effects of other cultural indices varied across measures. Individualism negatively affected face coverings stances. Uncertainty avoidance influenced lockdown and vaccination stances negatively but had a positive effect on social distancing stances. Long-term orientation negatively affected lockdown and social distancing stances but positively influenced quarantine stances. Cultural tightness only negatively affected face coverings and quarantine stances. Online stances toward face coverings mediated the relationship between cultural indices and COVID-19 cases/deaths. As such, public health officials should consider cultural profiles and use culturally congruent communication strategies when implementing preventive measures for future pandemics. Furthermore, leveraging digital tools is vital in navigating and shaping online stances to enhance the effectiveness of these measures.

THE RIGHT OF PALESTINIAN REFUGEES TO RETURN TO THEIR HOMELAND UNDER UNITED NATIONS RESOLUTION 194

The United Nations has been concerned with the problem of Palestine refugees since its inception in 1948, especially after the resolution n°. 194. However, to what extent has this resolution been implemented, and what is the global stance regarding the Palestine refugee issue? The key issue that drives our research on this subject. It should be highlighted, however, that due to the particularities of the Palestinian refugee, the term "refugee" as used in international law did not apply to them. The definition of a "Palestinian refugee" as defined by UNRWA was developed with the intention of assessing eligibility for recipients of UNRWA aid, rather than being fixed on a single definition. Rather of focusing on the theoretical side, the many definitions of "Palestinian refugee" were intended to address a specific conflict. UNRWA's definition did not align with the definition often employed in international refugee law, nor did it encompass all refugees who were permitted to return to their homes as per General Assembly resolution 194. The 1948 and 1967 wars caused the Palestine refugees listed in resolution No. 194 to be uprooted from their homes and lands. The Israeli occupation authorities' refusal to acknowledge it as the source of the problem's emergence, however, is a contentious aspect of the problem itself. It also distinguishes between the 1967 war refugees, often known as displaced individuals, and the 1948 war refugees. Palestine refugees are still scattered throughout the globe even after the UN overwhelmingly decided to acknowledge their right of return. As long as the Palestinian refugee issue is still a topic for study, it will get worse and make it more difficult for many Palestinian people to flee their homes as a result of the direct conflict between Israel and Hamas that broke out on October 7, 2023. The Palestinian refugee issue remains a problem that is being studied.

Challenges in protecting Rohingya refugees: Pathways for international intervention

This study examines the efficacy of international legal frameworks in preventing human rights abuses against the Rohingya in Myanmar. Despite global human rights conventions, the ongoing crisis highlights a stark disconnect between international norms and their enforcement. The study scrutinizes the limitations of key international bodies, particularly the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), and the challenges posed by national sovereignty and geopolitical dynamics that hinder effective human rights protection. Utilizing qualitative analysis of existing literature, this research identifies the systemic shortcomings within international mechanisms and the inadequate application of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) principle in Myanmar's context. The findings suggest an urgent need for reform within international legal frameworks and the implementation of more effective measures to uphold human rights universally and ensure the safeguarding of vulnerable groups like the Rohingya. The paper concludes with recommendations to strengthen international legal measures, increased accountability for human rights violators, and a more assertive global stance against violations, aiming to bridge the gap between international legal commitments and real-world implementation.

A Practice Theory Perspective on Dribbble and the Evolving Design Industry

As social media continues to integrate into people’s everyday lives, some sites provide a space for people to present their work and connect with others. This study seeks to understand how Dribbble.com (hereafter, Dribbble), a site created in 2009 for visual designers to showcase their work, plays a role in the transformation of the visual design industry. We use practice theory perspectives to interpret 30 semistructured interviews with active Dribbble users. We find that the niche site Dribbble, along with the constellation of sites around it, is changing professional design practices, in both positive and negative ways. In this study, the focus looks at the ways the work of design professionals unfolds. Our participants, professional designers on Dribbble report that the site changes how they find inspiration to solve design problems, give and receive design feedback from/for other designers, and look for jobs. Our work suggests that by being a primary source of inspiration for many designers, Dribbble may be influencing trends in the wider industry. In addition, Dribbble may be nudging the design industry into a more global stance with respect to hiring designers. Our work contributes to social media studies by showing a link between a design site such as Dribbble and changing practices in the design industry. It also contributes to the literature by looking beyond Twitter, Facebook, and Reddit into practices on smaller social media sites.

Impact of the Russian-Ukrainian Conflict on the International Situation in Russia

The complex Russo-Ukrainian conflict, rooted in historical, political, and territorial contentions, has far-reaching implications that extend beyond regional boundaries. This ongoing conflict has fundamentally reshaped Russia's global stance through its multifaceted impact on Western relations, economic repercussions, security recalibrations, and strategic use of propaganda. In navigating a way forward, diplomatic negotiations, leveraging multilateral forums, and addressing core grievances emerge as promising avenues. Diplomacy, facilitated by impartial mediators, emerges as a pivotal instrument for mutual comprehension and conflict resolution. Embracing multilateralism and active participation in international organizations not only fosters open dialogues but also facilitates collaborative solutions. An essential component of lasting tranquility involves addressing underlying issues, encompassing concerns over minority rights and disputed territories. Successfully resolving these foundational matters holds the potential to restore Russia's credibility, cultivate cross-border collaboration, and bolster the stability of the region. By embracing productive diplomatic initiatives, Russia can look forward to fortifying its global relations, fostering economic progress, and strengthening the foundations of international security. In the midst of these challenges, the quest for peaceful resolutions underscores the potential for broader international cooperation, ultimately contributing to a more stable and prosperous global landscape.

DSMM: A dual stance-aware multi-task model for rumour veracity on social networks

Rumour veracity on social networks aims to determine the authenticity of a claim based on the conversation graph. Current works typically employ graph neural networks (GNNs) to model the conversation graph and leverage the users’ stance classification on the claim (referred to as global stance) to enhance rumour veracity with multi-task learning methods. However, due to the over-smoothing problem, the layers of GNNs are usually very shallow. In Consequence, the graph nodes with limited receptive fields cannot perceive the semantic information of the claim node. This results in GNNs being sub-optimal for global stance learning. To address this issue, we present a novel dual stance-aware multi-task model, DSMM, to improve the rumour veracity results. Firstly, we design a position-aware semantic compensation method, which relies on the relative topological positions between the claim node and comment nodes to compensate graph nodes with different degrees of claim semantics, thus enhancing the awareness of graph nodes for claim semantics. In addition, we propose using local stance, the attitude tendency of comment nodes towards their predecessor nodes, to model local interactions of the conversation graph for the first time. Since the local stance is a fine-grained interaction representation of the conversation graph, it can complement the global stance and enhance the model’s understanding for conversation graphs. Further, we introduce the directed attention network to simulate the directedness of local stances and differentiate the importance of different local stances simultaneously. Finally, we use the cross-attention technique to fuse information from the above two stance classifications into the rumour veracity module to enhance model performance further. Experimental results on two publicly available competition datasets demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach.

Global Expectations, Local Realities: All-Inclusive Hotel Reviews and Responses on TripAdvisor

Abstract In this article we examine online reviews and hotel responses of Spanish hotel chains in two overseas tourist destinations: the Caribbean and Mexico. Drawing on a dataset of 96 hotel reviews we examine the intercultural experience of travellers as mediated by direct or indirect prior knowledge of the tourist destination and subsequent knowledge that results from visiting the host country and interacting with the locals, primarily with resort staff. The analysis shows, on the one hand, the global stance taken by the travellers to construct their reviews where the creation of an “intercultural space” is typically resisted and challenged in favour of expected global standards. The hotels’ responses, on the other hand, are constructed from a local rather than a global perspective. Findings reveal the intercultural tension that arises when lived experience of the specific culture cannot be married with the expectancies of homogeneity created by an increasingly globalised experience of tourism. The article concludes with a discussion of the role of interculturality, as conceived of in pragmatics, in a contemporary era characterised by discontent with digital information systems. It includes a discussion of some of the challenges in deploying the contrastive pragmatics toolkit to capture the intercultural space reported here and the extent to which it allows us to portray interculturality in the present day.

Addressing the Ethical Challenges of Providing Kidney Failure Care for Children: A Global Stance.

Children with kidney failure require kidney replacement therapy (KRT), namely maintenance dialysis and kidney transplant. Adequate kidney failure care consists of KRT or conservative treatment with palliative care. In the context of kidney failure, children depend on parents who are their surrogate decision-makers, and the pediatric nephrology team for taking decisions about KRT or conservative care. In this paper, we discuss the ethical challenges that arise relating to such decision-making, from a global perspective, using the framework of pediatric bioethics. While many ethical dilemmas in the care of children with KRT are universal, the most significant ethical dilemma is the inequitable access to KRT in low & middle income countries (LMICs) where rates of morbidity and mortality depend on the family's ability to pay. Children with kidney failure in LMICs have inadequate access to maintenance dialysis, timely kidney transplant and palliative care compared to their counterparts in high income countries. Using case vignettes, we highlight how these disparities place severe burdens on caregivers, resulting in difficult decision-making, and lead to moral distress among pediatric nephrologists. We conclude with key action points to change this status-quo, the most important being advocacy by the global pediatric nephrology community for better access to affordable kidney failure care for children.

Contractual Freedom and Autonomy under the CISG and UNIDROIT Principles as Legislative and Judicial Guidance in Commonwealth Arica

The idea that contracting parties should be afforded the freedom to determine the content of their contract and regulate their private legal arrangements not only advances efficient international trade and commerce, but also, to a very large extent, affords the parties the opportunity to mitigate their risks in their transnational commercial relations. Parties’ risks are mitigated when the basis upon which they can conclude and enforce their contract is not concealed by uncertainty. Within the global legal order on transnational commercial and contract law, parties enter into contracts with the expectation that the contracts will be enforced by the courts of law. This article seeks to critically appraise the global stance on contractual freedom and party autonomy. It ascertains the extent to which the global approach could serve as legislative and judicial guidance for Commonwealth African countries. The article suggests that Commonwealth African countries should accede to or ratify key instruments on international commercial and contract law. It further highlights the economic significance of such accession for businesspeople in Commonwealth Africa.

Confronting Balkanism from a Global Stance

Confronting Balkanism from a Global Stance

Towards attack-resistant Aggregate Computing using trust mechanisms

Recent trends such as the Internet of Things and pervasive computing demand for novel engineering approaches able to support the specification and scalable runtime execution of adaptive behaviour for large collections of interacting devices. Aggregate Computing is one such approach, formally founded in the field calculus, which enables programming of device aggregates by a global stance, through functional composition of self-organisation patterns that is turned automatically into repetitive local computations and gossip-like interactions. However, the logically decentralised and open nature of such algorithms and systems presumes a fundamental cooperation of the devices involved: an error in a device or a focused attack may significantly compromise the computation outcome and hence the algorithms built on top. For this reason, in this paper, we move the first steps towards attack-resistant aggregate computations. We propose trust as a framework to detect, ponder or isolate voluntary/involuntary misbehaviours, with the goal of mitigating the influence on the overall computation. On top of this, we consider recommendations in order to provide more reactivity and stability through the sharing of individual perceptions. To better understand the fragility of aggregate systems in face of attacks and investigate the extent of the mitigation afforded by the adoption of trust mechanisms, we consider the paradigmatic case of the gradient algorithm. Experiments are carried out to analyse the sensitivity of the adopted trust framework to malevolent actions and to study the impact of different factors on the error committed by trust-based gradients under attack. Finally, in a case study of the spatial channel algorithm, it is shown how the protection afforded by attack-resistant gradients can be effectively propagated to higher-level building blocks. • We consider the problem of security in the context of Aggregate Computing. • We propose trust as a framework to build attack-resistant aggregate computations. • We analyse the proposed approach for the case of the self-healing gradient algorithm. • We describe a field-calculus implementation of trust and recommendations. • We show that protection can be extended downstream to higher-level building blocks.

Organic versus Conventional Cropping Sustainability: A Comparative System Analysis

We are at a pivotal time in human history, as the agricultural sector undergoes consolidation coupled with increasing energy costs in the context of declining resource availability. Although organic systems are often thought of as more sustainable than conventional operations, the lack of concise and widely accepted means to measure sustainability makes coming to an agreement on this issue quite challenging. However, an accurate assessment of sustainability can be reached by dissecting the scientific underpinnings of opposing production practices and crop output between cropping systems. The purpose of this review is to provide an in-depth and comprehensive evaluation of modern global production practices and economics of organic cropping systems, as well as assess the sustainability of organic production practices through the clarification of information and analysis of recent research. Additionally, this review addresses areas where improvements can be made to help meet the needs of future organic producers, including organic-focused breeding programs and necessity of coming to a unified global stance on plant breeding technologies. By identifying management strategies that utilize practices with long-term environmental and resource efficiencies, a concerted global effort could guide the adoption of organic agriculture as a sustainable food production system.

Economic Growth and Employment from 1990-2010

In this article we estimate the growth elasticity of employment by gender for 160 countries during 1990-2010. We then econometrically model these elasticities to draw out the structural contexts in which gendered employment outcomes respond differently to growth, including measures of economic structure, demographic change, macroeconomic stability, global stance and policy, and income distribution and institutional development. Our investigation shows that the relative size of the service sector and the ratio of female to male labor force participation are key determinants of differences in employment elasticities by gender, creating higher elasticities for women than men. We also find that the terms of global integration, as measured by the current account balance, growth in the terms of trade, and the share of foreign direct investment in investment, are important for both female and male employment elasticities. JEL Classification: O5, F4, B54

Educational Perspectives and Teaching Styles of Faculty Who Lead International Service-Learning Experiences

Background and Purpose. Many professional physical therapist (PT) education programs are adding international service-learning (ISL) opportunities to their curricula as a way to address the increasingly global nature of the profession. There is a paucity of physical therapy literature addressing ISL, with a particular deficiency related to ISL faculty. The purpose of this study was to describe faculty demographics, teaching styles, and educational perspectives, and to compare faculty who provided ISL experiences for physical therapist students with those that did not.Subjects. The subjects included 205 faculty of physical therapist education programs; 23% led ISL.Methods. Subjects were recruited through 2 professional listservs and data were gathered via a commercial web-based service. Faculty with and without ISL experience were compared on demographic variables, teaching style, and educational perspective. Measurement tools included standard demographic inquiries, the Grasha and Riechmann-Hruska Teaching Style Survey, and a researcher-developed educational perspective questionnaire. Logistic regression was used to explore characteristics predictive of participation in ISL.Results. Subjects' most common teaching style was Personal Model/Formal Authority/Delegator and a Professional focus was the most commonly identified educational perspective. Familiarity with key ISL education authors was limited. There was no relationship between ISL involvement and teaching style, but a relationship was identified between ISL involvement and the Critical perspective. The factors in this study were not predictive of ISL participation.Discussion and Conclusion. In general, faculty ISL experience did not differ from their colleagues without experience. However, study findings can inform, and provide rationale and support for existing and future ISL programs. This study also provides a context for encouraging the discussion and exploration of faculty teaching styles and educational perspectives.Key Words: Physical therapy faculty, International service-learning, Teaching style.BACKGROUND AND PURPOSEInternational service-learning (ISL) is popular throughout higher education, and many professional physical therapist (PT) education programs are adding ISL opportunities to their curricula.1 Development of these ISL experiences aligns with student interest as well as the increasingly global nature of our profession.2 Globalization is influencing health care, and physical therapists are likely to encounter marked diversity in any setting in which they practice. Indeed, the 21st century has seen the profession of physical therapy taking a more global stance and positioning itself for enhanced international awareness and collaboration.3 Therefore, providing opportunities for physical therapist students to experience diversity and increase their cultural competence is critical. One way to address these issues in academic programs is to provide ISL opportunities, which may help to develop skills and attributes that enhance students' preparation for practice in this culturally diverse and global health arena.Before exploring ISL further, differentiating it from service learning (SL) is appropriate. Seifer4 defined SL as structured learning experiences that combine community service, explicit learning objectives, preparation, and reflection. (p274) Service-learning conducted in international settings is referred to as ISL; ISL conceptually and pedagogically grew out of SL. There is a sizeable and growing body of SL literature; in contrast, there is a remarkably limited body of ISL literature. This study was conceptualized in the context of SL and ISL literature.Many prominent educational theorists and researchers have explored important pedagogical issues associated with SL at the college level. Issues that have been explored include authenticity,47 higher-order thinking,811 theoretical support,6'8 reflection,1214 key features of campus-community partnerships,1422 and student outcomes such as general impact,4·1728 citizenship and service levels,29'30 and application of course content. …

Oil Prices Once Again: The Link Towards Middle East Economies

Recently, it is observed that current account surplus in oil exporting countries have been rising with the help of peaking oil prices. Expansionary monetary policies of major central banks boosting the speculation on commodity prices, political turmoil in Middle East region which is called the “Arab Spring,” and most importantly rising energy demand in the world economy due to high average growth rates of developing countries are argued to be the main reasons for the rising oil prices. This study aims to clarify the global stance of oil prices examining causes and how this affects Middle East economies (MEEs) separately from the rest of the world. The focus of the study will be on the demand pull factors for the rise in oil prices. As for causes, Chinese and Indian economic growth levels are examined since the oil demand of these countries constitutes a crucial ratio of the world oil demand. As for effects, the rise in oil price brings about a trade surplus which contributes to the growth of MEEs. Shortly, this study investigates whether there is a transmission mechanism from South and East Asia to MEEs via oil prices. For the time series analysis, Pesaran et al. (2001) bounds testing are used. Empirical findings confirm the link towards MEEs.

Towards a Transdisciplinary Frame: Bridging Domains, a Multidimensional Approach to Information

A trans-disciplinary frame is proposed, aimed at addressing the very understanding of information in all its variety. It aims at unifying perspectives and integrating techniques from different fields of knowledge and practice, searching for the most overarching account of information phenomena, a better formalization of real processes and a global stance towards problems concerning information. Such research frame might try to answer: Which are the basic distinct accounts of infor-mation to be applied in fields from telecommunication to philosophy, from biology to documentation, from logic to quantum physics? Which are the minimum primitive concepts that may cover all of them? Is a unified theory feasible? Could a better information measure be found? Could the societal and practical interest be better preserved in an integrated perspective of information? The methodological proposal aims at opening a space for the interweaving of different scientific frameworks (characterized by specific paradigms and methodologies) to delve into the very landscape of information, searching for a transdisciplinary treatment of theoretical, technical and practical problems concerning information. It is based on an already active interdisci-plinary International community and a critical mass of research groups at the global level. By means of bridging these com-munities, a new transdisciplinary science of information might emerge as an integrated framework in which information will be considered in all its formal, natural, cognitive, social, technical, ethical and philosophical aspects.

Towards a Transdisciplinary Frame: Bridging Domains, a Multidimensional Approach to Information

A trans-disciplinary frame is proposed, aimed at addressing the very understanding of information in all its variety. It aims at unifying perspectives and integrating techniques from different fields of knowledge and practice, searching for the most overarching account of information phenomena, a better formalization of real processes and a global stance towards problems concerning information. Such research frame might try to answer: Which are the basic distinct accounts of infor-mation to be applied in fields from telecommunication to philosophy, from biology to documentation, from logic to quantum physics? Which are the minimum primitive concepts that may cover all of them? Is a unified theory feasible? Could a better information measure be found? Could the societal and practical interest be better preserved in an integrated perspective of information? The methodological proposal aims at opening a space for the interweaving of different scientific frameworks (characterized by specific paradigms and methodologies) to delve into the very landscape of information, searching for a transdisciplinary treatment of theoretical, technical and practical problems concerning information. It is based on an already active interdisci-plinary International community and a critical mass of research groups at the global level. By means of bridging these com-munities, a new transdisciplinary science of information might emerge as an integrated framework in which information will be considered in all its formal, natural, cognitive, social, technical, ethical and philosophical aspects.

Congruence, Conflict, and Continental Governance: Canada's and Mexico's Responses to Paradigm Shift in the United States

The context for this study is a broader inquiry into continental governance under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in which three approaches have yielded relatively meager evidence of an emerging transnational political reality. Continentalism from above falters due to NAFTA's institutional deficit. Continentalism from below has produced little lasting solidarity among the major civil society organizations. Meanwhile, continentalism in the marketplace has not demonstrated much structural integration that is specifically North American in character. This quest has brought us back to the notion that, NAFTA notwithstanding, governance in North America is still comprised basically of three national governing systems linked together in two major asymmetric dyads. Intergovernmental relations in the aftermath of September 11, 2001 provide material for exploring this reality. ********** Introduction The catastrophic terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 on the Pentagon and on New York's World Trade Center impelled the administration of George W. Bush to bolster the policing powers of the American state, declare war on terrorism, engage in regime change among rogue states, and--of particular salience for this study--secure its territorial borders. With the defense of national security legitimating its unilateralist proclivities, a strongly neo-conservative White House a threat and built a world order around it, prompting every other sovereign state to reconfigure its relationship to the crusading hegemon. (2) The new global stance adopted by Washington engendered particular consternation in its two contiguous neighbors, whose economies and societies were so intermestically integrated that any action it took to deal with militant Islamist terrorism could seriously compromise their interests. Despite the common nature of the United States' challenge to both its peripheries, observers were not used to analyzing the problem posed by American hegemony comparatively since the evolution of scholarship on Canada's and Mexico's place in the North American continent had long proceeded in its own two vacuums. (3) Developments in the U.S. had influenced domestic policy responses in Canada throughout the twentieth century, because, by the end of the nineteenth, the two countries' economies, societies, and polities had already become deeply interconnected. Given its greater autarchy for seven decades following its revolution (1910-17), Mexico had been far less responsive to American trends until its adoption of neoconservative liberalization in the mid-1980s, when it had quickly become deeply dependent on the world's only superpower. Even then, each periphery still had good reason to believe in the uniqueness of its own contested relationship with Uncle Sam. Where one belonged to the First World, the other was located unmistakably in the Third. Where the former was culturally anchored in a Protestant, North Atlantic, Anglo-Saxon triangle, the latter found its references in the Catholic Spain of Ferdinand and Isabella and the Latinate Americas of Simon Bolivar. It was only in 1994, when NAFTA brought Mexico into an intimate association with the other two continental cohabitants under a common set of economic rules, that it became evident how many commonalities--both past (4) and recent (5)--Ottawa and Mexico City already shared. These historical, diachronic differences and more recent, synchronic similarities make the responses of the global hegemon's two neighbors in the aftermath of September 11th a fruitful subject for comparison. Two principal approaches have already yielded welcome insights into the present complexities of the U.S.-Canada and U.S.-Mexico relationships. International relations scholarship has focused on the actions of the three federal leaders and their governments in the fallout from Ground Zero. (6) Political economy presents the continental dynamic in terms of more structural relationships. …