Wto, Governance And The Limits Of Law

This book takes a critical look at the legalisation of multilateral trade governance. It inquires into the process whereby GATT was transformed into the WTO, and asks to what extent WTO governance has become legalistic, and if so, whether the legalisation process has produced a more stable and legitimate process of multilateral trade governance. The author attempts to bridge the legal and international relations literature on the WTO by focusing on the impact of the WTO on not only global trade relations, but also the ongoing process whereby the WTO itself is reshaping the institutional foundation of governing globalisation.

1. The WTO and the Governance of Globalisation 2. Approaches to the Study of Legalisation and Globalisation 3. Globalisation and the Transformation of the GATT 4. The WTO Dispute Settlement System: The Gravity Centre in WTO Governance 5. The Minimalist WTO Organisation: The Legacy of the GATT 6. The WTO Network: Exploring Alternative Modes of WTO Governance 7. WTO Practice in Critical Areas: Shrimps, Hormones and Bananas 8. Limits of WTO Legalisation: The Imperfections of the Global Polity 9. Conclusion: The Politics and Prospects of Reforming the WTO