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Middle powers in the global economy: British influence during the opening phase of the Kennedy Trade Round negotiations, 1962–4

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 October 1998

DONNA LEE
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Abstract

This article reassesses the preparatory negotiations which launched the Kennedy Trade Round (KTR) of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), in search of a role for Britain. My purpose is to make two challenges, one theoretical, the other empirical. Theoretically, this study questions the predominant focus on the structural power of major states that characterizes the study of international relations in general, and of the GATT in particular. This is a case-study of middle power influence that focuses on the negotiating skills and experience of state-level actors at the KTR. Empirically, I question the generally accepted view that the Anglo-American special relationship was merely a British myth and had no significance to US foreign policy interests in the 1960s.

Type
Research Article
Information
Review of International Studies , Volume 24 , Issue 4 , October 1998 , pp. 515 - 528
Copyright
© 1997 Cambridge University Press

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Footnotes

The research for this article was made possible by a Moody Grant from the Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ) Foundation, and a research award from the Research Foundation, University of Connecticut, to which I am most grateful. I would like to thank Mrs Stella Wood, Departmental Records Officer, Board of Trade, and Mr John Wilson, Librarian, LBJ Library, for their help with British and US documents. Thanks also to Mick Cox, Bart Kerremans, Neill Nugent, Wayne Shannon, Betty Hanson, Garry Clifford, Martha Gibson, and two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments on early drafts.