Accession as Dialogue: Epistemic Communities and the World Trade Organization. (24th April 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: TOOHEY, LISA
• Is Part Of: Leiden journal of international law. Volume 27:Number 2(2014:Jun.)
• Page Start: 397
• Page End: 418
• Publication Date: 2014-04-24
• Subjects: International law -- Periodicals; International courts -- Periodicals; 341.05
• DOI: 10.1017/S0922156514000077
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0922-1565

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="normal"> <title>Abstract</title> <p>Accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) is viewed as a major step in the development of a state, and the commitments made by acceding states are often interpreted as a symbolic commitment to international economic and political community. However, as a subject of scholarship, WTO accession is under-theorized – there has been no sustained academic attempt to build a theory that accounts for the complexity of the accession process. Traditional, positivist approaches can point to increasingly onerous terms of accession, but fail to probe past Article XII's one-dimensional concept of 'the acceding state' negotiating with 'the WTO'. This perspective dislocates the accession process from the broader political, economic, and legal reforms that involve both state and non-state actors. This article examines the role of these actors as epistemic communities, and argues that these epistemic communities engage in a series of dialogues about the nature of law and the legal system in the acceding state.</p> </abstract>