We begin our Regional Perspectives on Power series by focusing on what remains the most significant geopolitical region of our world. Since the end of the Cold War, the United States has been the international system’s sole bona fide superpower. Yet for more than 100 years, it has also been the undisputed regional colossus of North America. Since the advent of the Monroe Doctrine, Washington has sought to rally the region around US leadership, acted as a guarantor of security and, on occasion, intervened in the affairs of nations to safeguard its own national interests.

Yet in a structurally changing and dynamic international system should the United States remain the unencumbered leader of North America? Or should Washington promote a broad and deliberate process of regional integration that helps to minimize injustice and insecurity across the entire region?

Over the course of this week we consider the prospects for and pitfalls of integration for a region stretching from the Bering Sea to the Panama Canal and the Caribbean. We begin asking how likely greater social, economic and political integration is between North American states. Do previous attempts at integration, or lessons learned from Europe, offer insights on the prospect for future integrative efforts?

An additional challenge is whether there is any real desire for greater North American integration. The various secessionist movements that punctuate the region suggest that a significant proportion of North America’s population is opposed to the project. We also consider a further impediment to regional integration: a drug trade emanating from Central America and Mexico that supplies the domestic market of the United States and beyond.

We end the week by considering whether the United States actually needs to be at the forefront regional integration. Our specific focus on the Caribbean outlines how this region has attempted to better integrate social, economic and political processes, often with the help of external powers. And we conclude by determining how North America’s security problems over the next decade may impact upon prospects for regional integration. This issue is important as the security dynamics of North America will determine the United States’ future global trajectory.