Mark Aspinwall
Professor
Social and political science
The University of Edinburgh
United Kingdom
Biography
Mark is a native of Massachusetts who teaches international relations and international political economy. In his previous life he worked as a professional staffer in the US House of Representatives, and a Washington lobbyist for a consortium of shipowners. Prior to that, he worked as a tour boat captain in Boston Harbor, and as a mate on several schooners. He has held visiting positions at the Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies at Harvard University, Peoples University in Beijing, and the European University Institute (Florence).
Research Interest
Mark's research interests are in regional integration, and especially the impact of regional organizations on domestic politics in North America and the European Union. His most recent project concerns the capacity-building effect of the NAFTA environmental side agreement on Mexican politics. This project was part-funded by the Royal Society of Edinburgh and the University of Edinburgh. He is currently researching legal mobilization among Latin American environmental groups, as well as administrative capacity and the acceptance of labor rights norms.
Publications
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'NAFTA-ization: regionalization and domestic political adjustment in the North American economic area,' Journal of Common Market Studies, vol. 47, no. 1 (2009).
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(with Mark Duckenfield) 'Private interests and exchange rate politics: the case of British business,' European Union Politics vol. 11, no. 3 (2010).
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Side Effects: Mexican Governance Under NAFTA's Labor and Environmental Agreements (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2013).
