Politics of International Trade
S07
Geoffrey Pigman
How do people and social groups in democratic polities decide what should be traded across borders and under what conditions? Why is “Free Trade” represented as a collective good, even as it remains fundamentally contested? The course investigates the political processes through which international trade policies are made and implemented. We will come to understand how the major national, regional, and global institutions governing international trade function, with particular focus on the World Trade Organization. We will also explore how the interests of individuals and social groups with respect to trade are formed, and the political processes through which issues are (re)defined as “trade” issues and subjected to the politics of trade liberalization.