BHA: Absolute Beginner - Clarity

[Ismail Lagardien <ilagardien@xxxxxxxxx>]

Let me take this theorem/discussion out of its abstract clothes and shape it in terms closer to the envisaged empirical work of my PhD research.

Take a country like Mali, and let's for argument sake say it became "independent" in 1965 and joined the Gatt negotiations two years later. (During these negotiations Mali is, well, Jack and say, the USA is Jill) While I accept some of your arguments/suggestions about the social relationship between Jack and Jill (Mali and USA). The point I was trying to raise is that both negotiated within a European Legal Framework and a set of bargaining pre-conditions established BEFORE Mali entered the chamber.

In the literature (International Politics and Internaitonal Political Economy) it is establisged that the USA and Britain created the "libeal international economic order" (Gilpin 1982 based on Modelski 1978) after the Scond Wrld War. In other words whomever arrived after the rules/conventions/structures/systems and mechanisms were created would be subject to them, without recourse, and in the case of Mali - powerless.

Hence my reference that the formal system of rules/laws and/or structures existed prior to Mali's Agency - or something like that. I hope that makes sense.

Ismail

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