The essays in this collection are the product of a conversation among scholars, spanning national borders and disciplinary boundaries, about the development of a continental perspective . This conversation has been underway for some time, reflecting the causes, challenges, and consequences of economic, cultural, and political integration in North America. The conjunction of national elections in all three of the great North American democracies in 2000 offered us the opportunity to deepen this conversation and engage in scholarly discourse from a continental perspective .