ABSTRACT
The analytical framework presented in Chapter 2 focuses on trade politics as the result of state and societal relations and strategies. A state’s perceived vulnerabilities when facing trade negotiations influence the institutional architecture deployed to relate to society and thus strengthen its informational and legitimacy capabilities. The extensive or limited character of these mechanisms, which in turn yield different political opportunity structures, affect the ways in which business and civil society respond to states’ requirements. Their responses and collective strategies, however, also interact with their institutional leadership and capabilities, and the uncertainty of policy outcomes. Chapters 4 and 5 apply this framework to unravel the political dynamics in the context of three different types of negotiations in two countries. This chapter puts together all the pieces of the puzzle in a cross-negotiation and crossnational comparison of South-South, North-South and WTO trade negotiations in Argentina and Chile.
