ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a suggested analytical toolkit for the analysis of international economic negotiations based on some core International Political Economy literature. It does not offer a theory of economic diplomacy. Such a theory is challenging due to the number of variables that can shape international economic negotiations at any one time. In particular, negotiations involve the dynamic interaction between parties with different preferences, something that results in numerous potential equilibria or outcomes especially in large multilateral negotiations with many participating parties, such as multilateral trade rounds, international finance or climate change. 1
Theory can, however, be used for two purposes. Whilst predictive theory in the case of complex international economic negotiations presents formidable challenges that are not within the scope of this book, theory can also be used to aid our understanding of events and negotiations. It is in this applied sense that this chapter seeks to contribute to the field. The chapter is intended to provide the reader with a summary of some of the relevant theoretical approaches. It draws on some aspects of mainstream international relations and International Political Economy theory, but focuses on the applications of these theories to economic negotiations. It is in this sense that it provides an analytical toolkit. The chapter uses a simplified illustrative case of the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) in trade to clarify how the various theoretical approaches are relevant to economic diplomacy.
