ABSTRACT
This chapter investigates the making of expert knowledge in relation to international trade policy and how such processes are intertwined with forms of power. It complements and enriches existing literature, not only in respect to the analysis of civil society groups in trade politics but, more broadly, people's understanding of how alternative heterodox opinions can contest orthodox forms of knowledge. The chapter addresses a particular focus on the ties between social critique and global trade politics: the cultivation of research-intensive, policy-facing groups. The immediate touchstone for this type of enquiry would be trade literature on nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) or civil society actors. Oxfam International represents a pertinent example of the relationship between alternative thinking on trade politics and advocacy work. The problem centered on a coalition of West and Central African (WCA) countriesBenin, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Chadwhich began campaigning in 2003 at the World Trade Organization (WTO) for the liberalization of cotton trade.
