ABSTRACT
International trade policy is one of the oldest and most prominent competences of the European Union (EU). Decisions relating to international trade (trade between EU members and non-EU members) have a substantial impact on the distribution of wealth between and within countries. This chapter starts out with an overview of the literature that critically analyses EU trade policy. It argues for the theoretical diversification of critical research in EU trade policy via the introduction of innovative poststructuralist approaches. The chapter presents, in particular, the Poststructuralist Discourse Theory (PDT) of Laclau and Mouffe as a potentially highly valuable approach for creating new critical knowledge about EU trade policy. Discourse theory can roughly be understood as a blend of Marxist sociology; Gramscian, Althusserian, and Schmittian political theory; socio-linguistics; and psycho-analysis. The chapter then concludes with an empirical analysis that illustrates PDT's potential by looking at the discursive construction of ‘protection’ and ‘free trade’ in recent EU trade policy discourse.
