Activists beyond Brussels: Transnational NGO Strategies on EU–West African Trade Negotiations

Abstract

The literature on civil society interaction with European trade policy-making limits its analysis on Brussels-based campaigning and finds low impact levels. At the same time, the EU identifies global civil society as one factor of explaining the stalling of trade negotiations with African, Caribbean and Pacific countries. This article presents a case study of NGO campaigns on the EU–West African trade negotiations to suggest that the growing complexity of global governance presents the same political opportunities for non-state actor participation in trade as they have been shown to skilfully use in other policy domains. It concludes that political economy studies should integrate insights from the transnational activism literature in order to better grasp the effects of ongoing globalisations on trade policy-making.

La literatura sobre la interacción de la sociedad civil con la elaboración de políticas comerciales europeas, se limitan a analizar las campañas basadas en Bruselas, encontrando niveles de bajo impacto. A su vez, la UE identifica a la sociedad civil globalizada, como un factor que explica el estancamiento de las negociaciones comerciales con los países africanos, caribeños y del Pacífico. Este artículo presenta un estudio de caso de las campañas de una ONG sobre las negociaciones comerciales entre la UE y África occidental, que sugiere que la creciente complejidad de la gobernabilidad global, provee las mismas oportunidades políticas de participación en el comercio de actores no estatales, como lo han utilizado hábilmente en otros campos políticos. El artículo concluye que los estudios de política económica deben incluir conocimientos de la literatura sobre el activismo trasnacional, con el fin de comprender mejor cómo se afecta la elaboración de políticas comerciales en el ámbito de una globalización cada vez mayor.

关于市民社会与欧洲贸易政策制定互动作用的文献将其分析局限于以布鲁塞尔为基地的运动，研究发现其影响力处于低水平。与此同时，欧盟将全球市民社会认定为是解释欧盟与非洲、加勒比以及太平洋国家贸易谈判停滞的一个作用因素。本文展现欧盟—西非贸易谈判中一个非政府组织运动的案例，认为全球治理的日益复杂表明，非国家行为体在贸易中的政治参与机会，正如在其他政策领域已表明熟练运用的机会一样。本文的结论是，政治经济研究应当将跨国政治活动主义文献中产生的洞见整合进来，更好地捕捉正在经历的全球化对贸易政策制定的影响。

Keywords:

• trade
• non-state actors
• trade and development
• political economy
• transnational activism

Notes

EPAs are trade agreements negotiated since 2002 between the EU and the group of ACP countries in order to bring the WTO-incompatible unilateral preferential trade arrangements of the Lomé and the Cotonou Conventions in line with international obligations. EPA negotiations have been split into six regional sub-processes, namely EU–Caribbean, EU–Central Africa, EU–Eastern and Southern Africa, EU–West Africa, EU–South Africa, and EU–Pacific. These have to date led to the successful completion of one agreement with the Caribbean.

For example 11.11.11, ActionAid, ATTAC, Oxfam, Traidcraft and World Development Movement, but also Ecologistas en Acción, Solidarité or Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (Stop Epa, 2010; EPA Watch, 2010).

See Association of World Council of Churches Related Development Organisations in Europe (APRODEV) (2002), Women in Development Europe (2007), Friends of the Earth (2006, 2008).

Notably by ActionAid, Christian Aid, European Centre for Development Policy Management, Overseas Development Institute, Oxfam, and Traidcraft.

With Christian Aid, Overseas Development Institute, Traidcraft, War on Want, and Enda Third World.

Personal interview with Oxfam representative, 3 May 2009, Ouagadougou/Helsinki.

Author's participation in the conference ‘ACP Dialogue on Legal and Systemic Issues in the EPAs’, Dakar, 14–16 April 2009.

Personal interviews with Association Citoyenne de Défense des Intérêts Collectifs (ACDIC) representative, 15 April 2009, Dakar; Enda Third World representative, 28 July 2009, Dakar; Oxfam representative, 3 December 2009, Dakar/Helsinki.

Personal interviews with Senegalese public officials, 10 and 15 July 2009, Dakar; Economic Community of West African States and West African Economic and Monetary Union trade negotiators, 20–22 July 2009, Dakar.

Author's translation from German original.

Personal interviews with ACDIC representative, 15 April 2009, Dakar; Senegalese public officials, 10 and 15 July 2009, Dakar; Economic Community of West African States and West African Economic and Monetary Union trade negotiators, 20–22 July 2009, Dakar; Enda Third World representative, 28 July 2009, Dakar; Oxfam representative, 3 December 2009, Dakar/Helsinki.

Personal interviews with Senegalese public officials, 10 and 15 July 2009, Dakar; Economic Community of West African States and West African Economic and Monetary Union trade negotiators, 20–22 July 2009, Dakar.

31 December 2007, 30 June 2009, 31 October 2009.

Personal interviews with Senegalese public official, 10 July 2009, Dakar.

Personal interviews with ACDIC representative, 15 April 2009, Dakar; Enda Third World representative, 27 April 2009, Geneva; Third World Network representative, 5 August 2009, Dakar.