This study demonstrates why the global economy and global policies can only be understood by assigning equal importance to actors from different continents and international institutions. The contributors begin by examining the effects of reducing trade barriers through the WTO processes, and the implications for our understanding of market forces, the diminishing capacity of governments, consumer power, and the role of international agreements. They provide fascinating details on how the European Union and Japan develop their own strategies toward emerging Asian and Latin American states,...

This book focuses on one of the most strategic developments in international trade-the proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas Agreement-due for completion in 2005. This US initiative aims to replicate the NAFTA Agreement across all 34 countries of South and North America (except Cuba). This volume explains the origins and ongoing process of the negotiations and explains why the US wants to expand its NAFTA model. It makes clear that investment protection, in addition to trade, is at the heart of the new agreement. And it examines in-depth the possible consequences for Mercosur, Brazil, and...

This edited collection interprets and assesses the transformation of Brazil under the Workers' Party. It addresses the extent of the changes the Workers' Party has brought about and examines how successful these have been, as well as how continuity and social change in Brazil have affected key domains of economy, society, and politics.