Australia in the World Economy: Globalisation, International Institutions, and Economic Governance

One of the defining features of 'globalization' is that political power and regulatory authority are no longer the exclusive preserve of governments acting within their territorial boundaries. In the highly complex, internationally-integrated economic order in which national governments now operate, policymakers rely on international economic institutions to help co-ordinate such activities and provide a predictable, rule-governed framework in which economic activity can take place. The first part of this paper outlines the nature of global governance. Our key argument here is that although the development of a more powerful superstructure of political institutions and economic co-ordination mechanisms across and above states may have been inevitable, the rationale that informed their policy direction was not. Particular ideas about the most appropriate ways of organising economic activity have been promoted by political and economic interests that might expect to benefit from such initiatives. The second part of this chapter examines how such processes have affected Australia in a case study of its relationship with the World Trade Organisation (WTO), and its predecessor the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). One of the most important insights that emerges from this analysis is that globalization is a two-way street. In the complex dialectical interplay between the increasingly powerful economic forces and organizational structures that constitute the external international system on the one hand, and the contingent national institutional matrix through which such influences are mediated on the other, we find that while the forces of globalization may be constraining, they are not implacable

澳大利亚－日本自由贸易协定：前景及隐患

澳大利亚和日本两国政府正在进行一项可行性研究，该研究建议两国间开始全面的自由贸易协定谈判。此项研究已进展到最后阶段。在过去，这几乎是不可想象的，原因是日本国内对高度受保护的农业部门具有相当的政治敏感度。2002年，当澳大利亚首次提出与日本签订自由贸易协议的可能性时，来自日本农林水产省（MAFF）以及执政的自由民主党和生产者集团的反对，使得这一设想无法走得更远。此后日本选择的自由贸易协定伙伴一直限于那些对日本仅有少量农产品出口的国家。尽管如此，形势还是发生了很快的变化，越来越多的迹象表明：日本和澳大利亚很可能成功签订一项包括农业在内的自由贸易协定。译者单位：厦门理工学院外语系(361024

Political Leadership and Global Governance: Structural Power Versus Custodial Stewardship

This article examines the role of political leadership within the realm of global governance. Drawing upon relevant theories of political agency, particular attention is given to addressing the relationship between leadership and collective action. A two-level analysis of institution building in relation to maritime security and economic trade and investment reveals both strengths and weaknesses in practice. A review of the Law of the Sea Convention and the Multilateral Investment Agreement provides a salutary reminder that material power does not translate easily into dominating the rules of international conduct. The cases of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum and the Trans-Pacific Partnership further highlight the importance of mixed sources of political leadership in responding to economic challenges at the regional level. The policy implication for both the United States and China is that taking the lead in Global Governance, either jointly or multilaterally, will require a renewed focus upon custodial stewardship that aims to realign interests with long-term goals

Past as global trade governance prelude: reconfiguring debate about reform of the multilateral trading system

This paper peers backwards into the history of the multilateral trading system and its development over the past half century as a means of considering what may lie beyond the horizon for the future of global trade governance. Its purpose is to underscore the necessity and urgency for root-and-branch reform of the multilateral trading system. It achieves this by comparing and contrasting the global trading system of 50 years ago with its modern-day equivalent and its likely future counterpart half-a-century hence. In so doing, the paper throws into sharp relief not only the inadequacies of global trade governance today but also the damaging consequences of not fundamentally reforming the system in the near future, with a particular emphasis on the past, present and future development of the world’s poorest and most marginalised countries

Whither the World Trade Organization?

Just over a decade ago the longest and most comprehensive international trade negotiations ever were successfully concluded. But instead of being strengthened over the past decade, the multilateral trade regime has been subjected to immense pressures and strains. Why did the optimism of the mid-1990s prove to be so wrong-headed, asks Ann Capling

Policy innovation, diplomatic departures and the Uruguay round

This is a sample chapter from 'Australia and the Global Trade System: From Havana to Seattle', reproduced with permission from Cambridge University Press. http://www.cambridge.org/us/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=0521785251Australia and the World Trade System provides a comprehensive account of Australia's role in developing and maintaining the multilateral trade system from its origins in 1947 to the present day. This book, based on archival sources and oral interviews, makes a significant contribution to our understanding of Australia's trade policies, its commercial diplomacy, and its role and position in the global political economy.

A deal at any cost

This is a sample chapter from 'All the way with the USA: Australia, the US and free trade ', reproduced with permission from University of New South Wales Press. http://www.unswpress.com.au/isbn/0868409766.htmSpells out the unanswered questions about the Australia–US FTA. What are the implications of the Howard government’s linking of trade and security? How will the trade agreement affect relations with our other major trade partners, especially those in the East Asian region? Will the Australia–US trade agreement strengthen our ties with the United States, leading to deeper economic integration and more investment and jobs in Australia, or will it diminish our capacity to provide social programs that reflect particularly Australian values?

Investing in protection : The Politics of Preferential Trade Agreements between North and South : [book review]

Non UBCUnreviewedOthe

Death of Distance or Tyranny of Distance? The Internet, Deterritorialisation, and the Anti-Globalisation Movement in Australia

Ann Capling and Kim Richard Nossal argue that much of the analysis of the anti-globalisation movement has focused on the degree to which the Internet has played a crucial role in contemporary social movements.It is commonly argued that the net helps create \u27virtual communities\u27 that use the medium to exchange information, co-ordinate activities, and build and extend political support. Much of the commentary on the web as a means of political mobilisation stresses the degree to which the net compresses both space and time. Equally important in this view is the deterritorialised nature of on-line protest and diminution in importance of \u27place\u27 in current anti-globalisation campaigns. An examination of the antiglobalisation movement in Australia leads to a different conclusion. While the Internet does indeed compress time, it compresses space in a different and indeed quite variable way. This paper examines the way in which Australians protested against the MAI and the WTO meetings in Seattle and shows the differences in the nature of protest in each case. The authors conclude that crucial to an understanding of the differences was the considerable difference in the importance of \u27place\u27 in each case.&nbsp