An Analysis of the Wto Communication
An analysis of the WTO communication
ABSTRACT
Habermas has defined the relationship between public sphere and public opinion as “network for communicating information and points of view . . . the streams of communication are, in the process, filtered and synthesized in such a way that they coalesce into bundles of topically specified public opinions.” The report, based on Habermas’s theory of public sphere and public opinion, and with the Doha Round of trade talks as a case study, provides an analysis on the communication strategy of the World Trade Organization (WTO), including the target, content, form of the WTO communication, then summarizes the main characteristics of the communication, symmetrical but lack of democracy and transparency. Some recommendations are given at the end of the report for the creation of a more effective communication of the WTO.
1. INTRODUCTION
The World Trade Organization (WTO), as a global organization for the supervision and liberalization of trade in goods and services, and a permanent forum for the negotiation of trade agreements and for the settlement of trade disputes, has always played a significant and irreplaceable role in the global governance. As Pascal Lamy defines, the global governance is ‘the system assisting human society to achieve common objectives in a sustainable manner’ (2010:11). According to the theory of Habermas in his book, The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere, such common objectives are crucial in a public sphere, where “private persons” assembled to discuss matters of “public concern” or “common interest” through a specific kind of discursive interaction to reach the consensus (Nancy Fraser, 1992:58). In this sense, the WTO can be described as a transnational public sphere, with member states with different languages, cultures and rules in a ‘more multilayered and differentiated social space’ (Bohman,1998:210), where more effective communication is required to accomplish its
ABSTRACT
Habermas has defined the relationship between public sphere and public opinion as “network for communicating information and points of view . . . the streams of communication are, in the process, filtered and synthesized in such a way that they coalesce into bundles of topically specified public opinions.” The report, based on Habermas’s theory of public sphere and public opinion, and with the Doha Round of trade talks as a case study, provides an analysis on the communication strategy of the World Trade Organization (WTO), including the target, content, form of the WTO communication, then summarizes the main characteristics of the communication, symmetrical but lack of democracy and transparency. Some recommendations are given at the end of the report for the creation of a more effective communication of the WTO.
1. INTRODUCTION
The World Trade Organization (WTO), as a global organization for the supervision and liberalization of trade in goods and services, and a permanent forum for the negotiation of trade agreements and for the settlement of trade disputes, has always played a significant and irreplaceable role in the global governance. As Pascal Lamy defines, the global governance is ‘the system assisting human society to achieve common objectives in a sustainable manner’ (2010:11). According to the theory of Habermas in his book, The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere, such common objectives are crucial in a public sphere, where “private persons” assembled to discuss matters of “public concern” or “common interest” through a specific kind of discursive interaction to reach the consensus (Nancy Fraser, 1992:58). In this sense, the WTO can be described as a transnational public sphere, with member states with different languages, cultures and rules in a ‘more multilayered and differentiated social space’ (Bohman,1998:210), where more effective communication is required to accomplish its