International Trade and Developing Countries Bargaining Coalitions in GATT and WTO

How and why do countries bargain together in world affairs? Why aresuch coalitions crucial to developing nations? What effects do these blocs have on world affairs? This new studyasks and answers these key questions, showingwhy successful coalition buildingis a difficult and expensive process: allies need to be carefully identified, large numbers do not alwaysmean a proportionate increase in influence. The weak have the choice of teaming up against or jumping on the bandwagon with the strong. Even after it has been organized, collective action entails costs of many kinds. This book also investigates the relevance and workability of coalitions as an instrument of bargaining power for the weak. More specifically,it analyzes the coalition strategies of developing countries at the inter-state level, particularly in the context of international trade. Given the nature of this enquiry, this new study uses theoretical and empirical methods to complement each other. Through new case-studies of the Uruguay Round and an analytical overview of more recent coalitions, this is an important contribution to international political economy and international relations, where most GATT/WTO-based coalitions have eluded record. This book will be of great interest to all students of international relations, politics and globalization.

Introduction 1. Bargaining Together: Why and How? 2. Coalitions in the GATT and the Entry of Services 3. Bloc Diplomacy: The Informal Group and the G-10 4. Alliance Diplomacy: The Issue-Based, Crossover Coalitions of G-20 and Café au Lait 5. Combination Diplomacy: Issue-Based Blocs and Sub-Sectoral Crossover Coalitions 6. Evolved Alliances: The Cairns Group and Friends of Services Group 7. Regionalism: A Springboard for Bargaining? 8. Coalitions of the New Round: Developing Countries at Seattle and Doha 9. Conclusion

Amrita Narlikar is Lecturer at the Centre of International Studies, University of Cambridge; Senior Research Associate at the Centre for International Studies, University of Oxford; member of the Economic Negotiations Network based at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles and the Latin American Trade Network, Buenos Aires.