Ideas and interests in global financial governance: comparing German and US preference formation

The Trade Policy of Emerging Powers

“…Starting with the independent variables, the question arose in the FTAA and DS267 case studies of whether the more diffuse methods available to domestic actors to transmit ideational preferences to government actors-for example, through public opinion polls or socialization processes-necessarily meant government actors are likely to be less responsive to these preferences than they are to domestic interests, which are transmitted through the more direct lobbying processes. Under this argument, when interest groups are directly impacted by a potential government policy and face potential costs as a part of that policy, their higher levels of lobbying mean interests, rather than ideas, are likely to play the primary role in the policymaking situation (Schirm 2009). The cross-case study evidence from this chapter, however, does not support this claim.…”

“…Thus, perhaps when faced with an overwhelming amount of the former-as was the case throughout the FTAA negotiations-the effectiveness of the latter in conveying preferences to the government was diminished. This would provide new support for arguments in the literature which claim ideas play a decisive role in decision-making only when domestic interests are diffusely affected by the policy under discussion (Schirm 2009). This explanation will be kept in mind throughout the case studies that follow and addressed again in the discussion section at the end of the next chapter.…”

“…After all, reform negotiations could increase the information member states have about their trade partners and, if successful, create an institution which enabled broader or deeper cooperation. Global governance reforms are notoriously difficult, however (Wohlforth 2009, 33-34;Schirm 2009), meaning establishing conditions favorable to economic cooperation is also likely to be difficult and time-consuming. Further, in a policymaking situation dominated by this economic interest, speedy attainment of the interest is likely to matter.…”

“…The relationship between the two variables may-and does-change based upon situational factors. Schirm (2009), for example, identifies specific conditions under which economic interests and ideas each dominate government preference formation toward the reform of global governance. Further, this relationship between the variables may itself impact the strategic trade policy choice made by the EPs.…”

“…This book combines the insights of liberalism (Moravcsik 1997(Moravcsik , 2008 and the societal approach (Schirm 2009(Schirm , 2011 in order to identify factors which influence Brazilian and Indian government decisions to pursue trade policy goals in specific forums. Key elements which these approaches share include their focus on the domestic sources of government decisions, their inclusion of a variety of domestic actors within their analytical scope, as well as their assumption that decisionmakers respond to powerful groups of voters within their state.…”