North American Union

[[File:North America map coloured.svg|right|thumb|165px|¡Viva la Unión!]]{{conspiracynav}}
The '''North American Union (NAU)''' is 
an incredibly cool idea
 a theoretical (specifically, [[conspiracy theory|conspiracy-theoretical]]) union of [[Canada]], the [[United States]], and [[Mexico]] in an oppressive [[Satanic]] [[theocracy]] as a precursor to [[One world government]] and the [[New World Order]]. [[Gay marriage]] will<ref group=note>Which happened in the US, Canada and recently, all of Mexico... Finally!</ref> abound, [[dog]]s and [[cat]]s will live together, and [[wingnut|Real True Patriots{{TM}}]] will be thrown into [[FEMA concentration camps]].

The NAU will allegedly come into existence with the assistance of [[NAFTA Superhighway|unusually wide highways]] and [[Amero|badly-named currencies]].<ref>
[http://web.archive.org/web/20091007230443/http://www.americanpolicy.org/pdf/NAUFS-new.pdf NAU Fact Sheet (PDF)]
</ref>

==Claims==
===Amero===
{{main|Amero}}
There is just about [[zero]] evidence for the proposed Union, but believers in the theory love to talk about the [[Amero]], a fictional [[currency]] designed to be an eventual currency for such a union. One proposal for the Amero comes from a speculative paper written by an [[economist]] for the Fraser Institute, a [[libertarian]] Canadian [[think tank]], in 1999.<ref>[http://oldfraser.lexi.net/publications/critical_issues/1999/amero/ The Case for the Amero], Herbert G. Grubel</ref> However, it currently exists only as an artist's rendition.

===NAFTA Superhighway===
{{main|NAFTA Superhighway}}
This is the supposed superhighway that will connect the countries. It's non-existent unless by NAFTA Superhighway, you mean I-29, I-35, I-5 and I-94.

===CFR paper===
Another big piece of evidence is a [[Council on Foreign Relations]] report calling for increased economic cooperation and intelligence sharing among the three countries, but as the CFR is a non-governmental organization, this has no bearing on US policy.<ref>[http://www.cfr.org/canada/building-north-american-community/p8102 Building a North American Community], CFR</ref> Conspiracy theorists often claim that this paper proposes a blueprint for a total [[political]] union between the three countries, but if you actually look at the proposal, it doesn't say ''anything'' about an NAU. It would essentially be similar to a customs union--no tariffs between members, common tariffs for goods coming from outside the union. Curiously, another recommendation in the paper is [[secure the border|updated and tighter border security]], which should make the wingnuts happy in theory. Also, how it never seems to occur to a NAU believer that such a union would be dominated [[cultural]]ly, politically, and economically by the United States is [[paranoia|something of a mystery]].

===SPP===
The Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) was an initiative to hold more diplomatic meetings between the US, Canada, and Mexico to work on economic, security, and [[environmental]] issues. Its recommendations were non-binding. The SPP, while held up as evidence for the NAU, can't be evidence since it no longer exists as of 2009.<ref>See the [http://web.archive.org/web/20071203030123/http://www.spp.gov/myths_vs_facts.asp SPP's old fact sheet at the Internet Archive] and {{wpl|Security_and_Prosperity_Partnership_of_North_America|its Wikipedia page}}.</ref>

==Proponents==
In spite of the fact that it's an incredibly unrealistic idea that would [[Nationalism|never be agreed to by any of the proposed member countries]], the NAU is a popular far-right boogeyman, and the theory is a favorite of several [[Fox News]] commentators, including noted anti-[[Hispanic]] ideologue [[Lou Dobbs]]<ref>[http://www.augustreview.com/news_commentary/north_american_union/lou_dobbs_slams_north_american_union_2007040654/# Lou Dobbs slams NAU], August Review</ref><ref>[http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0611/29/ldt.01.html Lou Dobbs Tonight Nov. 29, 2006 transcript]</ref> and general wingnut [[Glenn Beck]]<ref>http://blatherwatch.blogs.com/talk_radio/2007/06/glenn-beck-stin.html</ref> as well as occasional guest [[Jerome Corsi]].<ref>[http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=14965 NAU to replace USA?], Jerome Corsi</ref> It was also promoted by none other than [[Phyllis Schlafly]].<ref>[http://www.eagleforum.org/topics/NAU/ Eagle Forum's NAU page]</ref> [[G. Gordon Liddy]] is not an NAU fan either. The occasional mention of the NAU will get tossed around fringe [[moonbat]] anti-[[NAFTA]] blogs and it's also something of a staple on general conspiracy sites promoting NWO, [[Illuminati]], or [[international Jewish conspiracy]] theories.

Thirteen state legislatures have actually passed anti-NAU or anti-NAFTA superhighway declarations and a bill against the NAU was proposed in [[Congress]] but never passed.<ref>[http://www.publiceye.org/magazine/v23n1/NA_Union.html The North American Union: Right-Wing Populist Conspiracism Rebounds], Chip Berlet</ref>

Much of the theorizing seems to be driven by anti-[[immigration]] and [[xenophobic]] sentiment. The rhetoric is reminiscent of [[communist]] world government and anti-[[United Nations]] conspiracy theories peddled by the [[John Birch Society]].<ref group=note>In fact, the [http://www.jbs.org/issues-pages/north-american-union JBS also runs a "Stop the NAU" campaign].</ref>

==See also==
*''[[Zeitgeist (film)|Zeitgeist]]'', which pushes this idea along with many other conspiracy theories.

==External links==
*[http://nauresistance.org/ NAU Resistance], here be conspiracy nuts.
*[[Skeptoid]] on the [http://skeptoid.com/episodes/4210 NAU]
*[[Snopes]] on the [http://www.snopes.com/politics/immigration/nau.asp NAU]
*[http://www.economist.com/node/9688072?story_id=9688072 Diverted by Jelly Beans: No sight of a North American Union], ''The Economist''
==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}
==References==
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[[Category:Conspiracy theories]]
[[Category:International relations]]
[[Category:Mexico]]
[[Category:Canada]]
[[Category:United States]]

Categories: Conspiracy theories, International relations, Mexico, Canada, United States