The Governance Of World Trade2004

"The Governance of World Trade focuses on the roles, influence and impacts of the so-called 'GATT operatives' or WTO practitioners. It is widely assumed that they have little influence on decisions and policies made, but, according to the authors, the GATT/WTO Secretariat has played an active role in promoting multilateral cooperation." "This study of the internal operation of the GATT/WTO argues that the invisible yet indispensable international civil servants are the permanent machinery within the institution. They have, the authors ascertain, an important coordinating function and act according to a specific scale of values that transcend those of individual states, providing the continuity and the cement, the credibility and the connection among self-interest-driven states. The book...