Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of key concepts covered in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book explores the shift from the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) to the WTO entrenched a legal-liberal episteme in the international trade regime, thereby determining patterns of empowerment in the EU's external trade policymaking process, and ultimately hamstringing NGO efforts to influence policy outcomes. International trade has been a focal point for political and social contestation since the conclusion of the Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations in 1994. The extension of World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreements into new areas such as investment, services, and intellectual property rights has engendered massive conflict and rendered ongoing negotiations infinitely more technical and complex. This book evaluates whether improvements in access and participatory conditions for progressive NGOs result in more legitimate external trade policymaking in the EU.