Towards A Theory Of Democratic Global Economic . - Carleton University

Towards a Theory of Democratic Global EconomicGovernance:Hybridization of Soft and Hard Law in the Case of Genderwithin the World Trade OrganizationbyJudit FabianB.Sc., B.A., M.A.A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairsin partial fulfillment of the requirements forthe degree of Doctor of PhilosophyinPolitical ScienceCarleton UniversityOttawa, Ontario, CanadaJanuary 2015Copyright Judit Fabian, 2015

iiNo endeavour that is worthwhile is simple in prospect;if it is right,it will be simple in retrospect.11Teller, Ede / Edward, Better a Shield Than a Sword: Perspectives on Defense Technology (NewYork: Free Press, 1987), 241. Another version of the quote reads as follows: “I believe that no endeavorthat is worthwhile is simple in prospect; if it is right, it will be simple in retrospect.” Quoted by JudithShoolery (2004) in Hargittai, István, The Martians of Science: Five Physicists Who Changed the TwentiethCentury (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006), 251.The quote signifies Teller’s firm belief that sustainable peace and security rest on people’s willingness tocontinue to observe treaties that they perceive to be instrumental to sustaining peace and security over alonger period of time and in changing circumstances. In his opinion, by necessity, such treaties would haveto be based on agreement, understanding, and legitimacy. What exactly these treaties might be will onlybecome clear in hindsight, when we might also realize that they were simple after all. But before we getthere, we tend to make things complicated – a difficult process that might also signify that, after all, if theprocess arrived at something simple, it was a worthwhile exercise. Teller (1908-2003) was a Hungarianborn American nuclear physicist, who was known, perhaps surprisingly after the foregoing, as “the fatherof the hydrogen bomb.”

iiiIn memoriamSzondi Béla István Jr.(Dec 2, 1974 – October 21, 2008)

ivAbstractThe study is about democracy. It asks whether global economic governance(GEG) can take a democratic turn by testing whether the representation of women andwomen’s interests can be accomplished within the World Trade Organization (WTO).The test answers the question because the representation of women and women’sinterests is a sine qua non of democracy in the 21st century, and because the WTO is thehardest case amongst institutions of GEG for the representation of women and women’sinterests. This produces two corollaries: if the WTO cannot incorporate a sine qua non ofdemocracy, then GEG cannot become democratic without significant institutionalrestructuring; if the representation of women and women’s interests can be accomplishedin the ‘hardest case,’ it should be possible within GEG generally.So proceeding, the study builds a framework for democratic GEG called InclusiveGlobal Institutionalism (IGI), comprising the principles inclusion, caution, simplicity,legitimacy and flexibility. IGI, balancing juridification, hybridization and pathdependency, is preferred over three ideas of democratic global governance: a globaldemocratic state, ‘multitude,’ and ‘a new world order of networks.’ The study validatesits test by showing that the representation of women and women’s interests can standproxy for democratization, while the WTO can stand proxy for GEG. The former isaccomplished by critiquing Pitkin’s ‘substantive representation’ and ‘potentiality,’advancing a more expansive concept of representation. The latter is accomplished bydeveloping seven ‘Moments of Juridification’ showing that the WTO represents the postWWII juridification of GEG, and nine ‘Reasons’ why the WTO is the ‘hardest case.’The study determines that the representation of women and women’s interests ismade possible by hybridizing soft and hard law in the Enhanced Integrated Frameworkand Aid-for-Trade, which require WTO interaction with other IOs, but are brought withinthe WTO’s Committee for Trade and Development in Aid-for-Trade session. This allowsthe conclusion that democratization of GEG is not impossible, and that representation ofwomen and women’s interests is possible within the WTO without fundamental structuralreform. The study finally concludes that to balance juridification, hybridization and pathdependency is necessary to any stable democracy or sustained democratization.

vAcknowledgementsAlthough the dissertation is one result of a strong curiosity sustained over alengthy period of time by a single person, there were many along the way who assisted itscompletion. Help and assistance came in professional and personal forms and in differentstages of the project. Some sustained their support throughout. I would like to thank themhere for their support and for the opportunities that I was lucky to have enjoyed.To begin, I would like to extend particular thanks and gratitude to the members ofmy dissertation committee, all of whom are from Carleton University: Randall D.Germain, Professor of Political Science (Supervisor); Jill M. Vickers, FRSC,Distinguished Research Professor and Emeritus Chancellor’s Professor of PoliticalScience; Laura Macdonald, Professor of Political Science and Director of the Institute ofPolitical Economy; and Paul Davidson, Professor Emeritus of Law and Legal Studies.This group of people, I believe, consists of the very best possible minds this project couldhave had as advisors. Their intellect, strength, determination, patience, and unmatchedability to focus on what is important in life have influenced me greatly. They wereinstrumental to the completion of this project and guided my intellectual curiosity anddevelopment. They also were instrumental in guiding me through my personaldevelopment along the way. Their holistic approach to teaching, research, and mentorshipis a great example for all.My two external examiners, I believe, are also the very best this project couldhave had. The interest showed by my external examiner, Jacqui True (Professor ofPolitics and International Relations of the School of Social Sciences, and Associate Deanof Research for the Faculty of Arts, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia), in thisproject had enormous academic value. Professor True’s very informative andknowledgeable report upon the dissertation provided very useful feedback, which willmost likely extend into many years to come. Her leading off the defence provided for theopening of a very fruitful discussion and made the defence surprisingly pleasant. RianneMahon (Professor and CIGI Chair in Comparative Social Policy, Balsillie School ofInternational Affairs and the Faculty of Social Work, Wilfrid Laurier University,Waterloo, Canada), also provided excellent feedback. Her searching mind andenthusiasm about the nuts and bolts of some of the foundations of the dissertation openedvery useful avenues for discussion. Finally, thanks goes to the Chair of the examinationboard, Michel Gaulin (Professor Emeritus of French, Carleton University), whose calmguidance of the defence process helped to put even the most nervous of us (me) at ease.A special thanks needs to be extended to Carleton University, and the Departmentof Political Science for ‘housing’ the research. Particular thanks goes to theadministrative staff current and past. They were very helpful and made me feel at home.Next, I would like to thank my closest family for their loving support: my parents,Julianna and Laszlo Fabian, and my sister Erika Fabian. They have had to endure myabsence from their lives for many years in order to finally see my efforts culminate in thisdissertation. Thank you for your loving support and patience.A very special thanks goes to my partner, Colin Borgal, who has seen me throughthis project and the PhD program with enormous patience and support. He hasaccompanied me on some of my research trips, served as a sounding board, and helpedme with quiet and gentle determination through the times when I wanted to throw all of

vimy work into the garbage. He read drafts and edited at different points in the life of thethesis, which helped me express my sometimes too complex thoughts. The dissertationwould not have been completed without his continual support.A thank you should also be extended to Colin’s parents, George and ShirleyBorgal, who were sufficiently confident in, and perhaps even sufficiently impatienttoward, my pursuit of difficult questions and my inclination to try to answer them, thatthey gifted me a book entitled The Wayfinders.Further, I would like to thank my numerous good friends who helped ‘sustain’ methroughout the years. Some were part of my life for only a part of the PhD process, somewere with me throughout. They are in different countries and in many differentprofessions. You know who you are: thank you to all! I would, however, like to singleout one person, Brad Cook, who has been my very good friend for almost half mylifespan. The importance of his support in life’s thick and thin is immeasurable.No research can be done without financial support. This research was very luckyto be funded entirely from academic sources. The project was supported by a ResearchTravel Grant by the Centre for European Studies (CES) at Carleton University (the grantwas administered by CES, and provided jointly by CES and the European Commission);by a conference bursary from the Centre for the Study of Globalisation andRegionalisation (CSGR) at the University of Warwick; by a travel and conferencebursary from the Canada Project Symposium at the International University ofKagoshima; by a conference invitation and bursary from the Russia Trade andDevelopment Project at the Centre for Trade Policy and Law, Ottawa; by an OntarioGraduate Scholarship; by a Kalmen Kaplansky Scholarship in Economic and SocialRights; by a bursary from the Baha’i Community of Canada; and by scholarships andbursaries from the Department of Political Science and Faculty of Graduate Studies atCarleton University. I am thankful to all who facilitated my funding by supplying thefunds, administering them, awarding them, or supporting me in my pursuit of them.I would also like to thank all who agreed to participate in the confidentialinterviews and those who facilitated arranging the interviews. In identifying some of myfirst contacts, the Delegation of the European Commission to Canada in Ottawa, LucieLamarche (Professor of Law, University of Ottawa, Canada), and Catherine Hoskyns(Professor Emeritus of European Studies, Coventry University, UK) provided me withinvaluable help. I also thank the numerous people who so generously shared their timeand knowledge with me and so patiently answered my questions during confidentialinterviews at EU DG-Trade in Brussels, Belgium, the WTO Secretariat in Geneva,Switzerland, and various NGOs working on gender, human rights, environment, andpoverty vis-à-vis global trade, mostly based in Geneva, Switzerland.The project also benefited from invitations to conferences, symposia andworkshops, at which the research was shared as it developed. The research was generallycommunicated at these meetings by delivering an academic paper or a report on morespecific questions of policy. These experiences were helpful in the exploration andrefinement of the study, including in defining future directions the research might take;therefore, they deserve special thanks and are briefly discussed below.Academic presentations in Canada, the United Kingdom, and Japan, constitutedsome of the substantive chapters of the dissertation. More specifically, “Can GlobalEconomic Governance Take a Democratic Turn? Gender and the WTO” was presented as