Perpetual imperialism and the MERCOSUR-EU trade negotiations

Herten-Crabb, Asha (2024) Perpetual imperialism and the MERCOSUR-EU trade negotiations. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

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Abstract

The MERCOSUR-EU trade agreement, finalised in June 2019 after two decades of negotiations, represents a notable milestone in international trade. Celebrated for fostering inter-regional cooperation, it is praised for its potential to drive growth, job creation, and sustainable development. However, the deal is not without controversy. While the European Commission promotes it as mutually beneficial for both regions, critics contend that it endangers livelihoods, worsens environmental issues, and perpetuates imperial production patterns. How can we explain these divergent views? This thesis argues that traditional paradigms in International Political Economy fall short in answering this question. Instead, it proposes a novel framework based on the ontological Standpoint of Mastery which forms the basis of imperial trade throughout history and continues to shape the norms, laws, and practices of trade today. It does so by naturalising imperial hierarchies, denying interdependencies, and obscuring alternatives. Through an interpretivist analysis of the MERCOSUR-EU negotiations, this study acts to counter the Standpoint of Mastery by revealing how these imperial hierarchies operate within complex North-South trade dynamics, underlining our interdependencies, and highlighting the alternatives that could be possible if international trade were conceived outside of the imperial imaginary. This thesis underscores the need to centre imperialism in studies of trade and calls for a renewed approach to trade negotiations on the basis of interdependency, not mastery.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Additional Information:	© 2024 Asha Herten-Crabb
Library of Congress subject classification:	H Social Sciences > HF Commerce J Political Science > JN Political institutions (Europe)
Sets:	Departments > International Relations
Supervisor:	Woolcock, Stephen and Antunes de Oliveira, Felipe
URI:	http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/4782

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