Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Reinventing The Development Wheel Of The World Trading System (Reviewing Sonia E. Rolland, Development At The World Trade Organization (2012)), Sungjoon Cho

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In probing how WTO norms may affect developing countries, Sonia Rolland introduces two paradigms in this book: development as an idiosyncrasy and development as a normative co-constituent to trade. The first paradigm concerns development-related exceptions and carve-outs found within WTO rules and agreements that exemplify a contingent provision of special favors to developing countries. Overall, it represents a limited mandate on development in the WTO. In contrast, the second paradigm embodies a normative operationalization of development agenda within the WTO system. It normatively reconstructs WTO rules and institutions in a way where development is a core mandate of the WTO, …

Reconstructing World Politics: Norms, Discourse, And Community, Sungjoon Cho

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This Article argues that the conventional (rationalist) approach to world politics characterized by political bargain cannot fully capture the new social reality under the contemporary global ambience where ideational factors such as ideas, values, culture, and norms have become more salient and influential not only in explaining but also in prescribing state behaviors. After bringing rationalism’s paradigmatic limitations into relief, the Article offers a sociological framework that highlights a reflective, intersubjective communication among states and consequent norm-building process. Under this new paradigm, one can understand an international organization as a “community” (Gemeinschaft), not as a mere contractual instrument of its …

Toward An Identity Theory Of International Organizations, Sungjoon Cho

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Conventional international relations (IR) theorists, such as realists, neo-functionalists or regime theorists, view international organizations (IOs) as passive tools with which to achieve certain goals. Although an IO may facilitate inter-state cooperation and reduce transaction costs, it does not have a life of its own. Therefore, conventional IR theorists focus mostly on the creation of an IO and inter-state cooperation leading up to the creation. As a result, an IO's institutional change remains rather an “under-studied” and “under-theorized” issue in the conventional international relations (IR) framework.

Granted, conventional IR theories may provide useful insights on an inter-national dynamic among creators …

Toward A New Economic Constitution: Judicial Disciplines On Trade Politics, Sungjoon Cho

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This article first observes that protectionism is an icon of trade politics and thus likely to gather fresh momentum as a domestic election approaches. The paper then problematizes protectionism beyond mere seasonal election politics by revealing its fatal pathologies both to the United States and to the rest of the world. Protectionism basically caters to the special interest at the expense of the larger public interest, which may be coined as a Madisonian constitutional failure. It also deviates from global trading norms, which the United States hypocritically continues to preach adherence to for the rest of the world. This double …

Competition Law And The Wto: Rethinking The Relationship, David J. Gerber

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This essay identifies obstacles to the inclusion of a competition law regime in the WTO and suggests changes that are likely to be necessary if competition law is to become an effective part of the WTO. Two obstacles have impeded inclusion of competition law in the WTO's legal regime and are likely to continue to do so. They are (i) a lack of confidence that the norms, practices and procedures of the WTO rest on a robust conception of community and (ii) uncertainty and concern about what form of competition law might be included and what its role in the …

A Dual Catastrophe Of Protectionism, Sungjoon Cho

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This Article argues that rampant parochial protectionism in the United States, a striking example of which is the recent skirmish over the Vietnamese seafood trade, yields catastrophic effects in domestic constitutional as well as foreign policy terms. Moreover, these harmful effects extend not only to the United States but also to the rest of the world. The Article consists of four Parts. Part I documents the trade dispute over Vietnamese catfish and shrimp exports to the U.S. market, with special attention to the question of how powerful southern lobbies prevailed over the broader economic interests of consuming industries and consumers. …

The Wto’S Gemeinschaft, Sungjoon Cho

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This Article focuses on the current development-related problems in the global trading system. A widening income gap and widespread poverty among trading nations denote the WTO’s Gesellschaftian nature—interest and power—resulting in structural distortion and manipulation. This Article maintains that the global trading system can achieve its development agenda and become fair and legitimate only through a critical paradigmatic transformation enabled by the configuration of the “WTO’s Gemeinschaft.” This Article observes that a fundamental legal precept, the “Law of Nations” (jus gentium), plays a critical role in actualizing this communitarian telos. Part II redefines the global trading system through the theoretical …