In the 21st century, international geopolitics has been reconfigured in the midst of two global crises: the environmental and health crises, coupled with armed conflicts, in a context of intense irregular migratory flows and growing economic inequality. On the other hand, the technological gap and the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) are trends that present risks and opportunities that we must address. Cultural revolutions, especially the feminist and sexual diversity movements, as well as disenchantment with political democracy have triggered multiple social movements revealing specific problems that go beyond governments and require cross-cutting governance. Furthermore, political polarization and the resurgence of various expressions of populism and the rise of ultra-conservative governments threaten the processes of democratization and, at the same time, lead us to question the possible futures for North America and its relationship with other regions and the world.

In 2024, as they do every 12 years, Mexico and the United States coincide in their presidential elections; Canada, for its part, has a general election scheduled for 2025, which suggests common political agendas and shared futures. In Mexico, the ascension for the first time of a woman to the highest political office in the country, at a time of demands for gender equity, could bring with it a greater weight of women in decision-making, breaking prevailing paradigms. In contrast, in the United States, the candidates of the Republican and Democratic parties are the oldest in the history of that country and whoever is elected will become the oldest president, highlighting the lack of political profiles of other generations, and the lack of renewal of the political elites, which at the same time reflects a stagnation of participation within them, particularly in the political activism of young people, resulting from the disenchantment with traditional politics, parties, and representatives; nevertheless, this dynamic is starting to reverse in a disruptive way, as evidenced by camps and protests against the war in Gaza that emerged at Columbia University, and have expanded to many more universities from all over the world, including the UNAM.

North America as a whole faces enormous challenges. 2024 marks the 30th anniversary of the entry into force of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), now the Mexico, United States and Canada Agreement (TMEC for its acronym in Spanish), which has become the institutional regulatory framework that favors nearshoring and the relocation of companies and investments to the region. However, there are issues that have generated arguments that will be taken to dispute resolution panels: transgenic corn and the energy issue. In addition, as contemplated, the TMEC will have its first review in 2026, which foresees complicated scenarios beyond who governs each country.

In order to investigate the possible scenarios of the aforementioned topics, as well as to discuss and analyze their impact on the priority problems and challenges of North American integration, from a multi- and interdisciplinary perspective, the Center for Research on North American, through the North American Studies Network (REDAN for its acronym in Spanish), invites you to participate in its Third Biennial Conference on North American Studies "Shared Futures?

We invite researchers, professors, representatives of civil society organizations, public officials, diplomats, students, and other parties interested in related areas of our field of study to participate in the various modalities included in this call for papers. Participants are encouraged to consider the research lines previously mentioned within the fields of social sciences and humanities, as well as the thematic axes linked to the title of the Congress as a starting point.