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Opening the Doors to the WTO Dispute Settlement: State Preferences on NGO Access as Amici
Author(s) -
Squatrito Theresa
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
swiss political science review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.632
H-Index - 30
eISSN - 1662-6370
pISSN - 1424-7755
DOI - 10.1111/j.1662-6370.2012.02065.x
Subject(s) - civil society , legitimacy , state (computer science) , inclusion (mineral) , democracy , doors , political science , settlement (finance) , corporate governance , public administration , member state , global governance , political economy , law , sociology , european union , business , member states , international trade , politics , social science , structural engineering , finance , algorithm , computer science , payment , engineering
Greater access and inclusion of civil society is a possible means of increasing participation in international governing processes and thus enhancing the democratic legitimacy of global governance. Yet, opening the doors of an international organization to civil society is often controversial. At the core of such controversies are costs and benefits that may arise from the inclusion of civil society. The aim of this article is to explore the opening of international organizations’ doors to civil society actors, emphasizing state’s preferences. To explore state preferences on civil society’s access, this article looks at the WTO dispute settlement process and amici submissions, and asks: what factors shape states’ preferences to allow civil society actors access? Drawing from a unique dataset on state preferences on amici submissions to the WTO’s dispute settlement process, I argue that state preferences are shaped by the capacity to manage costs of civil society access.