Metamorphoses of the WTO: Constructing Global Governance through Trade

Abstract

Since its creation in 1995, the World Trade Organization (WTO) has been one of the leading international organizations. We could expect that more countries entered the WTO because of the significance growth on world trade. However, the uniqueness of this organization does not lie on how many members it has or even the fact that trade is increasing rapidly. The creation of this new legal system in the WTO has led other new characteristics of the WTO. With strong legal system, trading among countries can be more predictable and stable which could serve as a basis for economic growth. This is one of the reasons many countries entered or remain to be the WTO member. In this paper that both of these characteristics, which are sourced from the WTO legal framework, contributed to the creation of global governance despite the growing critiques centered on the effectiveness of the WTO. Global governance suggests a world system or world society and used to describe the increasingly regulated character of transnational and international relations. Global governance implies an absence of central authority, and thus the need for collaboration and cooperation among governments and others who seek to encourage common practices and goals in addressing global issues. Even though there exist a large number of critics on the role and effectiveness of the WTO, in this paper focus on the process rather than the outcome. Similar to any problem solving, an outcome may not be preferable to one individual or group but preferable to the other. However, the system has created a forum to facilitate the discussion.