Joint Initiative on Trade and Global Economic Governance
Annual Call for Projects 2006
Summary
The Graduate Institute of International Studies (GIIS), the South Centre, and the Global Economic Governance Programme at the University of Oxford, are jointly implementing a project supported by the Geneva International Academic Network (GIAN) to advance research and policy dialogue on trade, global economic governance and developing countries.
Globalisation, under appropriate conditions, holds the promise of growth and prosperity. Yet for many in the developing world, and for those concerned about sustainable development, the results have been disappointing. The absence of an international consensus on how best to govern the global economy for development was captured in a recent article entitled "Goodbye Washington Consensus, Hello Washington Confusion?", which asks "not whether the Washington Consensus is dead or alive", but what will replace it.
In Geneva, Pascal Lamy, Director-General of the Word Trade Organisation, has identified the need for a new "Geneva Consensus". He argues that opening trade will advance development "but only if we address the imbalances it creates between winners and losers". According to this view, the WTO forms the heart of global economic governance and remains the most efficient and legitimate forum to open and regulate world trade. WTO Members are simultaneously considering ways to revitalize negotiations within the multilateral trading system.
This growing interest in WTO reform, and the significant changes in WTO practice that have occurred since the first generation of scholarly analysis of institutional reform, mean that 2007 will present an important moment for scholars and analysts. Now is the time to bring new perspectives, insights and analysis and to ensure that the discussion is as thoughtful and well-informed as possible with strong participation by developing countries. To respond to this challenge, this project aims to use collaborative research and dialogue among scholars, policy leaders, NGOs and policy analysts to help:
- Frame discussion of WTO reform in ways that focus explicitly on challenges related to development, power asymmetries between developed and developing countries, effectiveness, accountability and sustainability, while building momentum for change;
- Stimulate new thinking about the roles, functions and future of global economic governance and the institutions engaged in it over the medium-term;
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Bolster the accountability of global economic governance and improve its effectiveness at delivering sustainable development outcomes.
In consultation with a range of researchers and practitioners in Geneva and developing countries, the project will pursue these goals by:
- Producing independent, policy-relevant academic research papers on four inter-connected topics relating to trade and global economic governance. This will include using an interdisciplinary and consultative approach to research that seeks to draw on the experience and input of policy practitioners. The work will build on, but importantly also move beyond existing scholarship and policy analysis on WTO reform;
- Strengthening informal discussions among and between scholars, policy-makers and NGOs, through the research process, but also through a series of policy dialogues and seminars in Geneva and Oxford.
The project seeks to: 1) build on the academic strengths of the GIIS and Oxford, combined with the policy and applied experience of the South Centre and its unique direct ties to developing countries; 2) take advantage of access to leading policy-makers, practitioners, NGOs, and other partners in the field of international trade such as the Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development; and 3) realise the potential for scholarly research, discussion and debate offered by Geneva as an international centre of trade policy-making. As a multidisciplinary research endeavour, this project will draw on researchers at the South Center, Oxford and the GIIS with expertise in economics, political science and international law.
The grant provided by the GIAN for this project totals SFr 150,000
Project Team
Prof. Cédric Dupont , Coordinator, Department of Political Science , Graduate Institute of International Studies (GIIS) .
Ms Carolyn Deere , Principal Member, Global Economic Governance Programme , University of Oxford .
Mr Tiyanjana Mphepo , Principal Member, Global Governance for Development , South Centre .
Mr Matthew Stilwell , Principal Member, Programme for the Study of International Organization(s) (PSIO) , Graduate Institute of International Studies (GIIS) .
Prof. Daniel Warner , Principal Member, Programme for the Study of International Organization(s) (PSIO) , Graduate Institute of International Studies (GIIS) .
Dr. Ngaire Woods , Principal Member, Global Economic Governance Programme , University of Oxford .
Mr Vicente Paolo Yu , Principal Member, Global Governance for Development , South Centre .
Related Links
> The Global Economic Governance Programme
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