The Politics of Exit: Emigration, Collective Action, and Agrarian Reform in Mexico

Author/Contributor(s):	Sellars, Emily A
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Date:	12/02/2026
Binding:	Paperback
Condition:	NEW

The Politics of Exit examines how emigration influences collective action and the prospects for political change. It develops a theory about how the possibility of leaving can make it difficult to organize collective political activity, both by lowering the incentive to participate among those with exit options and by shifting expectations about the possible success of collective action. Using detailed data from Mexico over 100 years, Sellars shows that both collective pressure on the government and political response tended to rise when and where emigration to the United States became more difficult. The focus is Mexico's land reform, a sweeping program of land redistribution carried out unevenly under a series of very different governments.