DUKE University Press

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Anna Zalik | Linn Biorklund | Aleida HernándeZ Cervantes

Abstract:

President Trump’s 2025 trade war placed North America’s continental energy and infrastruc-tural regime at the center of hemispheric disputes, from cusma renegotiation to intensified com-petition over regionally proximate energy sources. This article examines how Mexico and Canada are repositioning within this system amid the global oscillation between neoliberalism and neomercantilism. We argue that internal tensions arising from this shift are addressed through extended extractivist relations, including the imposition of resource dependency on Mexico, facilitated by “green marketing” that discursively frames new infrastructure investment as eco-modern. Reviewing regulatory changes to Mexican and Canadian energy policy, the article analyzes two emblematic projects—the Tren Maya (Alstom/Bombardier) and TC Energy’s gas pipelines—showing how both extend extractivist relations while branded as “green.” These infrastructures are co-constituted with border securitization and migration control, revealing neomercantilism’s convergence with authoritarian nationalism and the deepening commodifi-cation central to neoliberal capitalism.Key words: neomercantilism, North American energy integration, green marketing, extracti-vism, border securitization and migration.

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Elected as fellows are Laura Levin, professor in the , and Deanne Williams, professor in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies. Gillian Parekh, associate professor in the Faculty of Education and Canada Research Chair in Disability Studies in Education, has been elected to the RSC College.

The fellowship recognizes distinguished career achievement and contributions to research, scholarship and creative activity, while the College recognizes emerging and mid-career leaders whose work is advancing knowledge and addressing complex challenges.  

The three scholars were recognized for contributions spanning performance studies, literary history and educational equity.

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Wood, a professor in the  and co-designer of the , was recently named the 2025 Baptista Prize winner for the essay, Tidal Relations: Pelagic Theories of the Black Atlantic. 

The essay outlines ocean-based (pelagic) theories that demonstrate how Black scholars and artists analyze and respond to anti-Black racism, oppression, environmental harm, and Eurocentric power systems by thinking through the significance of the Atlantic Ocean and sites of the Middle Passage. 

"This paper is guided by the question, what pelagic theories can be applied to explain, comprehend, and inspire Black contemporary life and struggle in the aftermath of the transatlantic slave trade and slavery?" Wood states in the essay's abstract. 

This prestigious annual prize honours an outstanding scholarly essay from a humanities, social science, business or legal perspective that relates to the Latin American or Caribbean studies. Wood is currently pursuing doctoral studies at 91��ɫ University. 

"As a first-generation immigrant settler, Canadian artist from the Caribbean, I create artwork inspired by the diasporic wonder and trauma of the sea," Wood states in the essay. "I see deep connections between my struggles now and the trauma of the Middle Passage, slavery, and racial capitalism." 

Read Natalie Wood's award-winning essay 

Congratulations, Professor Natalie Wood, on this achievement and your ongoing contributions! 

Photo: Professor Natalie Wood, centre, with colleagues and guests at William Peyton Hubbard Atrium naming event, February 5, 2026. 

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In Plantation Knowledge: Agricultural Colonization, Exploitation, and Exchange Since 1500, edited by Nicholas B. Miller and Ulrike Lindner. 

Here is a description of the book, and the link:

The first book to examine plantations in their global variations through the history of knowledge.

Few institutions feature as prominently in contemporary notions of colonialism, racism, and environmental degradation as the modern plantation. The racialized plantations of the Atlantic World loom large in the public imagination, namely those of the British Caribbean and the US South. Yet, the plantation has proliferated into the Information Age and has continued to expand across the tropical zone of our planet, surviving the abolition of slavery, the collapse of European empires, and the challenge of generations of anti-colonial thinkers. To grasp how the plantation has spread and evolved in our modern world, this volume studies what it terms plantation knowledge, or the types of expertise, experience, and information processing that have made and continue to make plantations possible. Drawing on case studies including Ireland, Mexico, Mississippi, Hawaiʻi, India, Malaysia, the Philippines, Cuba, Brazil, and Central Africa, it examines the global spread of the plantation; the diverse people, beings, and forms of knowledge intertwined with this process; and the elasticity and durability of the plantation as a mode of commercial agriculture.

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This article examines the adverse impact of the La Niña phenomenon in Argentina from 1988 to 1989 on the country’s economy, which led to a profound crisis. The severe drought significantly affected agricultural exports, exacerbating poverty and inflation. The resulting economic downturn was triggered in part by the drought and precipitated a political crisis, ultimately resulting in the resignation of President Alfonsín and paving the way for the election of Carlos Menem as Argentina’s president. This study sheds light on the intricate interplay between climatic events, economic performance, and political dynamics, highlighting the vulnerability of countries heavily reliant on agriculture and emphasizing the need for comprehensive strategies to mitigate the socioeconomic consequences of natural disasters.

Este trabajo examina el impacto adverso del fenómeno de La Niña en Argentina entre 1988 y 1989 sobre la economía del país, que condujo a una profunda crisis. La severa sequía afectó significativamente las exportaciones agrícolas, exacerbando la pobreza y la inflación. La recesión económica resultante, provocada en parte por la sequía, precipitó una crisis política que finalmente resultó en la renuncia del presidente Alfonsín y allanó el camino para la elección de Carlos Menem como nuevo presidente de Argentina. Este estudio arroja luz sobre la intrincada interacción entre los eventos climáticos, el desempeño económico y la dinámica política, destacando la vulnerabilidad de los países que dependen en gran medida de la agricultura y enfatizando la necesidad de estrategias integrales para mitigar las consecuencias socioeconómicas de los desastres naturales.

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We hope this message finds you well.

We are pleased to share several exciting updates with you:

New Leadership

• Dr. Kristin Ciupa (University of Regina) has assumed the role of CALACS President
• The new Executive Committee includes Vice Presidents Tameka Samuels-Jones (91��ɫ) and Marie-Josée Massicotte (University of Ottawa), Treasurer Jorge Daniel Vásquez (University of Regina), and Secretary Patricia Harms (Brandon University)

2026 CALACS Congress

• The University of Calgary will host our Congress from May 6-9, 2026
• Theme: Latin American and Caribbean Cities and Societies
• Call for Papers coming soon via our listserv and website

To read the full CALACS announcement click here.