The Beyond the Border Declaration under the perspectives of Historical Analysis and International Relations Theory

Abstract

The purpose of this study is twofold, first to isolate the historical determinates which steered Prime Minister Stephen Harper of Canada and President Barack Obama of the United States of America (US) to agree upon the objectives outlined in the Beyond the Border Declaration (BTBD) in 2011. Specifically, by focusing on the historical underpinnings which spurred both nations to boldly approach transnational integration in the fields of economics and security. Second, to cross examine the Can-Am relationship with an international relations theory developed by Robert Keohane and Joseph Nye regarding complex interdependence of states to determine if the theory applies to Can-Am relations. In doing so, this study hopes to prove that the inception of the BTBD was due to the historical underpinnings of the Can-Am relationship which exhibited neoliberal complex interdependence characteristics associated with Keohane and Nye’s theory.