What Kind of Civil Society with figures FINAL.pdf (1.39 MB)
What kind of civil society? The changing complexion of public engagement at the WTO
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-09, 07:37 authored by Erin Hannah, Amy Janzwood, James Scott, Rorden WilkinsonSince the WTO’s creation its relationship with civil society has changed significantly. In this article, we use an original dataset to: (i) plot the changes that have taken place in civil society group representation at the WTO Public Forum; and (ii) assess the significance of these changes for understandings of public interactions with the WTO. We test four hypotheses drawn from prevalent claims made in the academic and policy-facing literatures: (i) that the volume of participation in the Public Forum is determined by the ebb and flow of WTO-centered trade politics, with participation levels peaking during moments of crisis and falling away during times of stasis; (ii) that the stalling of the multilateral trade agenda has led to business interests turning away from the WTO; (iii) that the participation of NGOs in the Public Forum is also sensitive to the rhythms of trade politics; and (iv) that governments – particularly those from the global North – have begun to lose interest in the WTO and shifted attention to other arenas. We find support for hypotheses one and three but not for two and four. We subsequently analyze whose voices are heard at the Public Forum and find that there has been a narrowing of the arena of trade debate over time.
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Publication status
- Published
File Version
- Accepted version
Journal
Journal of World TradeISSN
1011-6702Publisher
Kluwer Law InternationalIssue
1Volume
52Page range
113-141Department affiliated with
- International Relations Publications
Full text available
- Yes
Peer reviewed?
- Yes
Legacy Posted Date
2017-08-14First Open Access (FOA) Date
2018-05-01First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date
2017-08-14Usage metrics
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