Economic Interdependence and Security: A Discourse Analysis of WTO Accessions

States have used different justifications for acceding to the WTO, mostly through economic or security terms (or both). Considering the existing debates on economic interdependence, this thesis seeks to explore to what extent Latvia and Yemen invoked security as a justification for joining the WTO. This question becomes relevant as we assess the existing positions regarding free trade. Proponents of free trade, either in academia or in government, have mostly mentioned and based their case upon economic gains, but many of those proponents have also put forward the importance of trade regarding economic interdependence and security. Indeed, a great part of the current literature in international political economy (IPE), as well as in security and conflict studies, argues that trade between countries is beneficial for security reasons, as it disincentives countries to go to war with a country with whom they benefit from through economic gains. To analyse state justifications, I am...Show moreStates have used different justifications for acceding to the WTO, mostly through economic or security terms (or both). Considering the existing debates on economic interdependence, this thesis seeks to explore to what extent Latvia and Yemen invoked security as a justification for joining the WTO. This question becomes relevant as we assess the existing positions regarding free trade. Proponents of free trade, either in academia or in government, have mostly mentioned and based their case upon economic gains, but many of those proponents have also put forward the importance of trade regarding economic interdependence and security. Indeed, a great part of the current literature in international political economy (IPE), as well as in security and conflict studies, argues that trade between countries is beneficial for security reasons, as it disincentives countries to go to war with a country with whom they benefit from through economic gains. To analyse state justifications, I am using Discourse Analysis (DA), which aims to inquire whether liberal and/or realist claims about the relationship between economic interdependence and security are in fact present in discursive and textual justifications made by states. Through the analysis of the discourse of foreign policy executives of Latvia and Yemen, this thesis has found that, indeed, FPEs and States often frame their discourse in terms of security when joining the GATT/WTO.Show less

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Economic Interdependence and Security: A Discourse Analysis of WTO Accessions