Marc Williams

The Global Economy

By the end of the nineteenth century a truly global economy had been created. In this century the internationalisation of production has continued apace. National economies are now more closely linked than at any time in history. Although the bipolar division of the world after World War II created two international economic systems they have never functioned completely independently of each other and are now more increasingly intertwined. The increased sensitivity and vulnerability of national economies to economic events outside their borders coupled with the increased role of governments within national economies combined to transform the dialogue on international economic relations. A key feature of post-1945 international relations is the attempt by states to institutionalise multilateral management of the international economic system. Furthermore, the accession to independence of the Afro-Asian states produced new demands on the international economic system. The new political consciousness of these states served to highlight the issue of global economic inequality and they attempted to use international organisations to redress their grievances. The number of actors in international economic relations has also increased with the spread of the transnational corporation and the increase in international banking. The readings in this chapter are concerned with the globalisation of economic activity.

The Third World and Global Environmental Negotiations: Interests, Institutions and Ideas

Marian Miller provided an engaging and persuasive analysis of the role of Third World states in global environmental negotiations. While Miller focused on the strategies of individual states, this article examines the collective agency of the Third World in global environmental negotiations. The first part of the article explores the debates on the continuing relevance of the Third World as a concept, and contends that the Third World retains relevance in the context of global bargaining processes. The second part of the article highlights the role of ideas and institutions in the continued reproduction of the Third World as an actor in global environmental politics. The final part of the article explores the ways in which the negotiations on climate change have tended to reproduce a distinctive Southern perspective.

The WTO and Civil Society

In line with a general trend in contemporary global governance, the World Trade Organization has been developing increased links with civil society groups. If conducted well, these contacts can make important contributions towards greater effectiveness and democracy in the global trade regime. If handled poorly, however, the relations can undermine policy and undercut democracy. Already the WTO and civic associations have taken notable steps to increase the quantity and quality of their mutual exchanges. Yet major resource constraints and deeper structural impediments have to date prevented a fuller development of this dialogue.

The world trade organisation, social movements and global environmental management

When examining the role of social movements attempts to influence international negotiations, most commentators have seen social movement activity within a simple frame and have concentrated on those groups that are engaging directly in the international policy process. Less attention has been given to others that are using different sorts of strategies. In fact, social movements adopt multi‐faceted approaches. Two different strategies to effect transformation in the world trading system are explored. On the one hand, social movements, principally NGOs, are lobbying the WTO directly. On the other hand, less institutionalised grassroots movements have taken a more confrontational attitude.

Trade and Environment in the World Trading System: A Decade of Stalemate?

This article assesses the first decade of the trade-environment debate, and explores the possibilities for reconciliation of competing positions on trade-environment issues. It explores three aspects of the continuing conflict over trade and environment in the World Trade Organization. Rejecting both optimistic and pessimistic accounts of the past and future of the trade-environment debate it argues that important changes have occurred that have transformed the debate. But, despite the normalization of the trade-environment debate around the concept of sustainable development significant points of contention remain among the various participants.

Combatting Climate Change in the Pacific

1. Introduction: The Politics of Climate Change in the Pacific -- 2. Organizing a Regional Response to Climate Change in the Pacific -- 3. Constructing Climate Change in the Pacific -- 4. Constructing Climate Security in the Pacific -- 5. Organizing Climate Finance in the Pacific -- 6. Conclusion: The Future of Climate Politics in the Pacific.

The Political Economy of Meat: Food, Culture and Identity

Anthropologists have long explored the relationship between culture, food and eating. Recent work in sociology has also addressed these themes. Research into food in political economy, on the other hand, remains located in discussions revolving around the production of commodities. When consumption is investigated, it is rarely from a perspective which includes cultural factors. This chapter is an excursion into the linkages between food, culture and identity through a discussion of the political economy of meat. It explores the history of thinking about meat, paying particular attention to shifts in ways of thinking about meat over time, and to contemporary conflicts over meat and meat products. Perceptions of the importance of meat are not restricted to its nutritional value but extend to non-food issues. Representations, and consumption, of meat (and blood) encode cultural messages about selfhood and group identity.

Constructing Climate Change in the Pacific

The prominence of climate change in the global arena has reconfigured the Pacific and its place in the world. Climate change has constructed the Pacific as the frontline of climate change. The first part of this chapter traces the emergence of climate change narratives and how they have been contextualized in the region and have established hegemony in political arenas. This is followed by an analysis of critical voices—many from within the region—that challenge climate hegemony and its impact, especially on other environmental and development problems faced in the region. The final section analyses the persistence of the frontline construction at the global level and the boost it offers to small island states in international climate politics.

Organizing a Regional Response to Climate Change in the Pacific

The origins of contemporary regionalism in the Pacific are explored to understand the degree of regional interdependence, the strength of regional identity or regional awareness, and the creation of regional organizations that reflect and in some cases create this identity. The first part of the chapter provides a brief overview of regional governance, and analyses the sense of shared identity articulated as the ‘Pacific Way’. Though difficult to define, the Pacific Way is the ideational underpinning of key regional organizations and a way of structuring decision-making in a manner that reinforces distinctiveness and a shared way of approaching cooperation and contention. The second part of the chapter maps the mandates, resources, and competencies of the various regional organizations concerned with climate change in the Pacific, illustrating both the complexity and coherence in the regional architecture.

Introduction: The Politics of Climate Change in the Pacific

The introductory chapter makes the case that within the grand architecture of global climate governance, analysing regional complexes in the Pacific provides new insights into the ways climate change is constructed, governed, and shaped by—and in turn shapes—regional and global climate politics. Three claims are made. First, the Pacific is not just ‘any region’, rather the Pacific has been constructed as the frontline of climate change. Second, climate change reinforces the notion of regional solidarity in the Pacific institutionalized in regional organizations; however, these organizations have become heavily dependent on external donors in combatting climate change. Third, Pacific states have advocated for important changes to the global architecture of climate finance, yet contestation over key elements of climate finance leaves the region poorly served.