Africa in the WTO Doha Development Agenda Negotiations

Through the formation of strategic coalitions as the Africa Group, as well as active participation in other bargaining alliances such as the NAMA 11, G20 and others, African states have become key to the process and form of WTO negotiations. The research seeks to identify and critically analyse the bargaining strategies of African states in the negotiating processes during the current Doha Round.

There is a paucity of work on Africa’s involvement in international organisations generally and, comprehensive study of Africa in the WTO. Yet a thorough study of African involvement in the WTO provides an opportunity to explain more fully weak country behaviour in trade negotiations and, significantly, their impact on institutional change. The research on multilateral trade bargaining examines the constraints and opportunities for African agency in the WTO and provides a policy-relevant setting for further social science analysis of structure-agency relations and their impact on institutional change. By analysing the significance of the African members states as potential vehicle for shifts in the negotiation process, this study offers a much-needed explanation for WTO institutional change.

For more details see http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/schools/government-society/departments/political-science-international-studies/research/projects/african-actvism-world-trade-organisation.aspx