Who Teams Up with the European Parliament? Examining Multilevel Party Cooperation in the European Union

As in nearly all European Union (EU) policy areas, scholars have turned to analysing the role of national parliaments, in addition to that of the European Parliament (EP), in trade politics. Yet, there is limited understanding of how the parliamentarians at the two levels interact. This article fills the gap by conceptualizing these interactions as a continuum ranging between cooperation, coexistence and competition. We use this continuum to explore multilevel party interactions in EU trade talks and show how cooperation compels politicization – national parliamentarians mainly interact with their European colleagues in salient matters. However, we argue that the impact of politicization on multilevel relations between parliamentarians in the EP and national parliaments is conditioned by party-level factors. Hence, we account for how and why politicization triggers multilevel party cooperation across parliaments in the EU through ideological orientation, government position and policy preferences and show how this takes place in the case of trade.

Desain karakter film animasi Raya and The Last Dragon dalam membangun politik identitas Asia Tenggara

Raya and the Last Dragon merupakan salah satu film animasi dari Walt Disney Studio yang dirilis pada awal 2021. Film tersebut menceritakan petualangan tokoh bernama Raya di negeri Kumandra yang mencari naga untuk membasmi musuh dan menyelamatkan dunia. Dalam film tersebut terlihat elemen kuat warna, aset, latar belakang, nilai-nilai kehidupan, kebiasaan, dan adat istiadat yang sangat dekat dengan kehidupan sehari-hari masyarakat di Asia Tenggara. Dilihat dari indikasi tersebut, maka terdapat politik identitas yang mencerminkan bangsa di wilayah Asia Tenggara. Penelitian ini bertujuan meneliti bagaimana politik identitas terbentuk dan mempengaruhi persepsi penonton dalam mengapresiasi kebudayaan Asia Tenggara. Metode penelitian menggunakan pendekatan kualitatif dan dianalisis menggunakan teori politik identitas. Hasil penelitian menyimpulkan bahwa politik identitas yang dibangun melalui penceritaan nilai kehidupan, desain aset, dan desain karakter tokoh film Raya and the Last Dragon telah berhasil membangun persepsi tentang Asia Tenggara, sebagai bangsa yang berkebudayaan dan berkarakter dengan nilai-nilai spiritualitas untuk hidup berdampingan dengan bangsa lain, makhluk hidup, dan alam semesta. Namun, ketiadaan pengisi suara yang berasal dari Asia Tenggara pada film yang pertama kali rilis menggunakan bahasa Inggris menyebabkan hilangnya unsur “rasa memiliki” bagi penonton. Film ini menjadi penanda penting dalam politik dagang Amerika di wilayah Asia, di mana peluncuran film terjadi di saat bersamaan dengan banyaknya tragedi Asian Hate di wilayah Amerika dan Eropa. Raya and the Last Dragon is one of the Walt Disney Animation Studio films released in early 2021. The film tells the adventures of a character named Raya in the land of Kumandra who is looking for dragons to eradicate enemies and save the world. The film shows strong elements of color, background, assets, attributes, life values, habits, and customs which are very close to the daily lives of people in Southeast Asia. Based on these indications, there is an identity politics that reflects the nation in Southeast Asian region. This study aims to examine how identity politics is formed and influences the audience's perception of appreciating Southeast Asian culture. The research method uses a qualitative approach and analyzed using the theory of identity politics. Results of the study conclude that identity politics built through values of life, asset design, and character design for the film Raya and the Last Dragon has succeeded in building perceptions about Southeast Asia, as a cultured and characterized nation with spiritual values to coexist with other nations, living things, and the universe. However, the absence of an Asian voice actor in the film, which was first released in English, caused the audience to lose the element of a sense of belonging. This film became an important mark in American trade politics in the Southeast Asian region, where the film's release occurred at the same time as the many Asian Hate tragedies in American and Europe.

Understanding the ‘crisis of the institution’ in the liberal trade order at the WTO

The liberal trade order is in crisis. I argue that the origins of the current crises lie in the underlying tension which exists in the World Trade Organization (WTO), magnified by a churning in global power dynamics. A dilemma at the heart of the WTO between two important goals of representativeness and effectiveness means that both goals cannot be pursued at the same time. Now, this inherent tension is being magnified by power shifts in the global economy most evident in the rise of emerging powers within the WTO, who demand more representation, and the retreat by the US towards a more inward-looking orientation; both together damage effectiveness. Simultaneously, new powers such as China and India are defending a ‘reformed multilateralism’ combined with selective protectionism with varying capacity. These shifts are transforming previous ‘crises within institutions’ into a ‘crisis of institutions’ at the WTO, wherein the rules of the game, ideas of free trade and the legitimacy of the WTO are under threat. Global trade politics is seeing new coalitions at the WTO, as emerging powers craft their own rise, US defends sovereignty and trade protections, and launches a challenge to China's rise, and some established powers (the EU for example) seek to reform it. The new global trade politics is walking on two uneven legs and creating winners and losers and new ways of managing the transitional trading order as did the creation of the post-world war order.

What You Don’t Know About the Codex Can Hurt You: How Trade Policy Trumps Global Health Governance in Infant and Young Child Nutrition

Background: International food standards set by the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC), have become more prominent in international trade politics, since being referenced by various World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements. The new standing of the CAC imposes limits on domestic public health regulation. We show this includes implementation of the World Health Organization (WHO) International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes. Methods: Using trade in commercial milk formulas (CMF) as a case study, we collected detailed data on interventions across various WTO bodies between 1995 and 2019. We used language from these interventions to guide data collection on member state and observer positions during the CAC review of the Codex Standard for Follow-up Formula (CSFUF), and during CAC discussions on the relevance of WHO policies and guidelines. Results: Exporting member states made 245 interventions regarding CMFs at the WTO, many citing deviations from standards set by the CAC. These did not occur in formal disputes, but in WTO Committee and Accession processes, toward many countries. In Thailand, complaints are linked to weakened regulation. Exporters also sought to narrow the CSFUF at the CAC in a way that is at odds with recommendations in the International Code. Tensions are growing more broadly within the CAC regarding relevance of WHO recommendations. Countries coordinated during WTO committee processes to advocate for reapportioning core WHO funding to the CAC and in order to further influence standard-setting. Conclusion: The commercial interests of the baby food industry are magnifying inconsistencies between health guidelines set by the WHO, standard-setting at the CAC, and functions of the WTO. This poses serious concerns for countries’ abilities to regulate in the interests of public health, in this case to protect breastfeeding and its benefits for the health of infants, children and mothers.

Declining hegemony and the sources of Trump’s disengagement from multilateral trade governance: the interaction between domestic politics and the international political economy

As a result of the economic and political rise of China and Trump’s decision to undermine the liberal international order, theories of hegemony have regained center stage in both policy-oriented and scholarly debates. Yet, a careful analysis of the evolution of the US foreign policy strategy in the realm of international trade politics reveals that traditional theories of hegemonic decline are ill-equipped to account for both the timing and the content of the Trump administration’s behavior in this issue area. This paper argues in favor of integrating structural theories of hegemonic transition/stability with an analysis of the domestic sources of trade policy preferences. To do so, we draw on the International Political Economy literature highlighting how the domestic political process triggered by the dynamics of international economic competition combined with structural forces in shaping the timing and content of the Trump administration’s disengagement from the existing multilateral trade governance structures.

"BLACK RHETORIC" AS A MANIPULATIVE TECHNIQUE

Problem setting. Manipulations are the main thing in «black rhetoric». Nowadays, it is not difficult to influence with the help of words, different techniques can be used, but they all act as a forced verbal influence on the listener. All of them are formulated and sound based on the power of words. However, where the coercion of submission to another's will is disguised and hidden, there is always contempt and speculation. Therefore, it is no coincidence that most experts raise the question of the moral side of the use of black rhetoric. However, it is fair to say that "black rhetoric" does not mean that it is "forbidden rhetoric." Most likely − this is the reverse side of the classic rules of the communicative process. These are two reverse sides of the same coin: on the one hand, argumentation and logic are clearly presented. On the other hand − rhetoric as a method of securing beliefs. It is believed that black rhetoric is constructive under certain conditions.Paper objectiv. An article devoted to the study of the problems of the application of manipulations with «black rhetoric», coverage of the technology of black rhetoric and methods of resistance to the means and technical manipulative influence on consciousness. The aim of the study is to reveal the techniques of «black rhetoric» and find ways to overcome several methods of manipulating consciousness. Paper main body. According to K. Bredemayer, "black rhetoric" is the manipulation of a complex of rhetorical, dialectical, polemical and rabid methods in order to direct the conversation in the desired direction and lead the opponent or the audience to the desired conclusion and result for the manipulator. "Black rhetoric" and logic are interconnected, they are united not only by a common process of proof, but also by the fact that each of the sciences is based on thinking, in fact, the main type of rhetoric is verbal thinking, and the most important argument is manipulation. Verbal thinking − thinking that operates with fixed concepts in words, thoughts, conclusions, analyzes and summarizes, builds hypotheses and theory. It takes place in forms that are constant in the language, ie carried out in the processes of internal or ("thinking aloud") external language. Communication through verbal means is nothing more than the use of a living word in the transmission of information. But in addition to language, speech, there are other means of communication. People exchange information through gestures, facial expressions, looks, postures, body movements, which are called non-verbal (non-verbal) means of communication. Nonverbal communication is a system of nonverbal cues that serve as a means of exchanging information between people. There is no consensus on the composition of non-verbal components of communication, their classification is based on different criteria. Thus, the communicative nonverbal components of communication are praxodic, kinetic, toxic and proxemic means. "Black rhetoric" uses primarily verbal manipulations. Manipulation is the covert control of people and their behavior. The peculiarity of all manipulative language techniques is that the speaker does not directly state his true purpose. The interlocutor seems to come to the conclusion that the manipulator needs. Language manipulation can be found in almost all spheres of human life: in advertising, trade, politics, education, psychotherapy, jurisprudence, literature, family communication and more. In addition to language manipulation, there is also psychological manipulation, which has the following characteristics: the attitude of the manipulator to the objects of manipulation as a means to achieve one's own goal; the desire to gain a unilateral advantage; the latent nature of the influence (both the fact of influence and its direction); use of psychological vulnerability of the person. The analysis of the listed manipulative techniques of "black rhetoric" shows the absence of logical methods of proof and refutation. Psychological factors, emotional influences, suggestive possibilities are emphasized − thinking avoids logical principles of proof and refutation. Conclusions of the research. Strategies such as: take the initiative in the conversation to prevent manipulation; do not allow a skillful interlocutor-manipulator to disturb the normal course of your thoughts in his favor, because black rhetoric seeks to use linguistic means, the purpose of which is the ability to argue and discuss, emphasize and propagate so that the speaker always wins, despite the erroneous judgments. To effectively counteract "black rhetoric", psychological influence through critical thinking and reflection should be avoided; emphasize the logical means of discussion; analyze the information by comparing the proposed facts to be verified. Mastering the logical methods of introducing a discussion allows you to overcome the dangerous effects of "black rhetoric", to resist suggestions. Information security is thus achieved by mastering logical knowledge and skills of logical proof and refutation.

Canada's National Questions, Free Trade and the Left

It is now more than 30 years since the launch of the bilateral:anada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (CUFTA), predecessor to the multilateral North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the (now abandoned) Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). For a generation, these "free trade" initiatives provided an important part of the framework in which political movements developed in Canada, engendering debates and controversies which continue to this day. When a new moment of trade politics emerged with Donald Trump's challenge to NAFTA, some veterans from those earlier anti-free trade battles were unable to see the new, white nationalist terrain upon which Trump was operating. This article - organized principally around the author's own engagement with the anti-free trade movements of the 1980s - suggests that this inability to see clearly the new context of anti-free trade politics was rooted in the incomplete and contradictory left-nationalist theory which underpinned most anti-free trade politics of that earlier era. The article suggests that while there are national questions in Canada - in particular those associated with Indigenous peoples and with Quebec - the attempt to articulate a parallel "national question" in Canada as a whole has proven to be impossible.