Module 3- GOVERNMENTS AND CITIZENS IN

A GLOBALLY INTERCONNECTED WORLD OF

STATES
1. Introduction/Overview

This module aims to discuss the formation of a state which is the highest expression of
a political act of men conforming to promote their common interest, advance their common
welfare, secure their collective rights, optimize their available common resources, promote their
common heritage, and harness their common potentials for the general well-being of the
citizens (De Leon and De Leon Jr. 2014, p.6)

3.1. Lesson 1 Module 3

WHAT IS A STATE?

A state is a community of persons, more or less numerous, occupying a definite

territory, possessing an organized government, and enjoying independence from external
control.

It is dwelled by people permanently occupying a fixed territory and bound by common-

law habits and customs into one body, exercising through the medium of an organized
government, independent sovereignty and control over all persons and things within its
boundaries, capable of waging war, making peace and entering into international relations with
other communities

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtcicQY49AQ&t=4s

Nation and State

Under international law, state is not equivalent to nation. Nation is defined as people or
aggregation of men, existing in the form of an organized society, usually inhabiting a distinct
portion of the earth, speaking the same language, using the same customs, possessing historic
continuity, and distinguished from other groups, like by their racial origin and characteristics,
and generally, but not necessarily, living under the same government and sovereignty (Danung
and Campanilla, 2004)

State is more of a political concept while nation is racial or ethnical. However, state and
nation are often used interchangeably. To further explain, a state has four essential elements to
consider.

Four Essential Elements of the State

1. People. This is the entire body of those citizens of a state who are invested with political
power for political purposes (Black’s Law Dictionary, 6th edition). It is necessary to the
existence of the state. There can be no functionaries to govern and no subjects to be
governed without the people. The number should be neither too small nor too large. It
should be large, enough to be well governed (Martin, 1984). It must be sufficient and
number to maintain and perpetuate itself. A casual gathering of individuals by chance, a
group of bandits or a society of pirates does not constitute people as an element of state
(Aruego, 1975; De Leon and De Leon Jr., 2014).

2. Territory. It is a geographical area under the jurisdiction of another country or sovereign

power or state (Black’s Law Dictionary, 6th edition). It must be a fixed territory which the
inhabitants occupy. Nomadic tribes, who travel from place to place, may not establish a
state since they are not occupying a fixed territory. A state must have a territory sufficient
in extent to provide for its maintenance and growth (Aruego, 1975; De Leon and De Leon
Jr., 2014). There are five modes by which a state can acquire a territory. These are by
discovery and occupation, prescription, secession, subjugation and annexation and
accretion.

● Discovery and Occupation. A state may acquire a territory by discovering a

continent, an island or land with no inhabitants or occupied by uncivilized
inhabitants, and thereafter, occupying it by placing it under its political
administration. Discovery without subsequent occupation is not sufficient to
acquire a territory. There is effective occupation when the following are met:
1. That the parties occupying the territory must have been authorized by the state for
which they are acting;
2. That the state must by formal act evidence its intention to acquire sovereignty over
the new territory; and
3. That it must be established within a reasonable time after discovery.(Public
International Law).

The following lands can be the subjects of discovery and occupation: (1) uninhabited
lands, (2) lands inhabited by uncivilized persons, and (3) lands discovered by a state but
which it failed to occupy for unreasonable length of time.

● Prescription. It is the mode of acquiring a territory through continuous and

undisputed exercise of sovereignty over it during such period as is necessary to
create under the influence of historical development the general conviction that the
present condition of things is in conformity with international order (Public
International Law). Note that the length of time required for the acquisition of
territory by prescription is not definite, although some authorities consider a period
of fifty years as sufficient.
● Secession. It is the assignment, transfer, or yielding up of territory by one state or
government to another. Secession may be in the form of sale or donation. For
example, for 20 million dollars, the Spanish government on December 10, 1898
ceded the Philippine archipelago to the United States of America through the
Treaty of Paris.
● Subjugation and Annexation. It is a mode of acquiring a territory belonging to a
state of by occupation and conquest made by another state in the course of war
and by annexation at the end of the war. Conquest gives the conqueror inchoate
title that may be converted into a full title after annexation are also called
involuntary secession.
● Accretion. It is another mode of acquiring territory by addition of portions of soil,
either artificial such as the reclamation area in Manila Bay, or natural by gradual
deposition through the operation of natural causes such as the waves of the
ocean.
3. Government. Government is the totality of authorities which rule a society by prescribing
and carrying out fundamental rules which regulate the freedom of its members. It is
composed of the executive, legislative, judiciary, and administrators with corresponding
roles in administering the affairs of the state (De Leon and De Leon Jr., 2014, p.9).

Kinds of Government

1. De jure or legitimate government. This is established according to the constitution,

and lawfully entitled to recognition and supremacy and administration of the
nation, but which is actually cut off from power or control. It is a government
deemed lawful or deemed rightful of just, but which, nevertheless, has been
supplanted or displaced (Black’s Legal Dictionary, 6th edition)
2. De facto or illegitimate government. A government that maintains itself by a display
of force against the will of the rightful legal government and is successful, at least
temporarily, in overturning the institutions of the rightful government by setting its
own in lieu thereof.

There are three kinds of de facto government:

1. Government by Revolutions is a government established by the inhabitants who rise

in revolt against and depose the legitimate regime.
2. Government by Secession is a government established by the inhabitants of a state
who secede there from without overthrowing its government.
3. Government by Occupation is a government established in the course of war by the
invading forces of one belligerent country in the territory of another belligerent
country, the government of which is also displaced.

4. Sovereignty. It is the supreme, absolute and uncontrollable power by which an

independent state is governed. It is the paramount control of the constitution and the
frame of government and its administration De Leon and De Leon Jr., 2014,9)

There are two kinds of sovereignty: internal and external. Internal sovereignty is the
power to control and direct the internal affairs of a country such as the authority to
enact, execute, and apply laws. Under international laws, internal sovereignty is not a
factor in determining whether an entity is a state.

External sovereignty is the power of an independent state to control and direct its
external affairs such as the authority to enter into treaties with other states, to wage
war, and to receive and send diplomatic missions.
 Module 4- GLOBALIZATION OF ECONOMIC
RELATIONS
1. Introduction/Overview
INTRODUCTION/OVERVIEW

ECONOMIC GLOBALIZATION is a historical process, the result of human innovation and

technological progress. It may also refer to the increasing integration of economies around the
world, particularly through the movements of goods, services, and capital across borders.
Economic globalization is one of the three main dimensions of globalization commonly found in
countries, academic literature, with the two others being political globalization and cultural
globalization, as well as the general term of globalization. Economic globalization refers to the
widespread international movement of goods, capital, services, technology and information. It is
the increasing economic integration and interdependence of national, regional, and local
economies across the world through an intensification of cross-border movement of goods,
services, technologies and capital. Economic globalization primarily comprises the globalization
of production, finance, markets, technology, organizational regimes, institutions, corporations,
and labor.

2. Learning Outcomes
Learning Outcomes:

At the end of the module, the students should be able to:

Define economic globalization
Distinguish globalization from internationalization
Explain the important function of World Trade Organization
Discuss the different kinds of trades
Explain the importance of regional trade organizations and its implication to the member
countries; and
Assess the situation of the developing countries in terms of their international trades.
3. Module 4 Lesson 1-INTERCONNECTED DIMENSIONS OF ECONOMIC GLOBALIZATION
The Globalization of Trade of Goods and Services

When a country exports more than imports, it runs a trade surplus. The opposite is Trade
Deficit. The large trade deficit in the middle and the late 1980s sparked political controversy that
still persist today. For hundreds of years, industries in the U.S. have petitioned governments for
protection and societies have debated the pros and cons of free and open trade. For the last
century, the principal argument against protection has been the theory of comparative
advantage, the advantage in the production of goods enjoyed by one country over another when
that good can be produced at lower cost in terms of other goods than it could be in the other
country.

The Globalization of financial and Capital Markets

A country enjoys an absolute advantage over another country in the production of good if it
uses fewer resources compared to other country.

The trade barriers also called obstacles to trade-take in many forms. The three most
common are tariffs, (tax on imports) export subsidies, (government payments made to domestic
firms to encourage exports) and quotas (limit on the quantity of imports).

The Globalization of Technology and Communication

In part technology transfer and communication have become part of manpower training in
most agricultural countries. This is so because of the belief that human resources are the
ultimate determinant of economic advance.

The Globalization of Production

Production is the process which inputs are combined and transformed into output. The
output can be produced by the number of several techniques. In choosing the most appropriate
technology, firms can choose the one that maximize the cost of production. For a firm, an
economy with plentiful supply of inexpensive labor but not much capital, the optimal method of
production will involve labor-intensive techniques.

GLOBALIZATION AND INTERNATIONALIZATION

Dicken (2004) to distinguish Globalization from internationalization, the former is functional

integration between internally dispersed activities while the latter is about extension of economic
activities of nation states across borders. Reich (1991) agrees that globalization transforms the
national economy into a global one because for him, there will be no national products or
technologies, no national corporations, no national industries. On the other hand, hyper globalist
Ohame (1995) declared that states ceased to exist as primary economic organization units in
the wake of global market.

On the contrary, Boyer & Drache (1996) admit that globalization is reducing the role of the
nation state as an effective manager of the national economy. Milner and Keohane (1996)
supports the previous notions. They admit that the national economic policies and the structure
of domestic institutions of states are not uniformly influence by globalization.

According to Gereffi (1999), this move induced to develop the concept of global commodity
chains; an idea that reflects upon the increasing importance of global buyers in a world of
dispersed production.

THE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION AND GATT

GATT is a treaty among 123 nations whose governments agreed, at least in principle, to
promote trade among members. It was based on Three principles: equal, nondiscriminatory
trade treatment; the reduction of tariffs by multi-lateral negotiation and elimination of import
quotas.

The successor to GATT, the World Trade Organization (WTO), came in January 1, 1995. One
of its major tasks was to allow 76 member

signatories to have binding market access commitments in banking, securities and insurance.

The agreement resulted in lower prices for businesses and consumers, especially in Asia and
Europe, where tariffs had been relatively high (Cooper & Bahree)

4. Content:
INTERCONNECTED DIMENSIONS OF ECONOMIC GLOBALIZATION

The Globalization of Trade of Goods and Services

The Globalization of financial and Capital Markets

The Globalization of Technology and Communication

The Globalization of Production

GLOBALIZATION AND INTERNATIONALIZATION

THE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION AND GATT

PREFERENTIAL TRADE AGREEMENTS

Free Trade Areas

Customs Union

Custom Market

North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)

Andean Community
 Asia Pacific

Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)

The European Union

The Middle East

ECONOMIC COOPERATION OF WEST AFRICAN STATES

Economic Community of West African States

South African Development Community

ORGANIZATION OF THE PETROLEUM EXPORTING COUNTRIES (OPEC)

THE BRETTON WOODS SYSTEM

DEVELOPING COUNTRIES AND INTERNATIONALTRADE

6 (SIX) IMPORTANT FACTS ABOUT INTERNATIONAL TRADE

THE MCDONALDIZATION OF SOCIETY

5. Module 4 Lesson 2-PREFERENTIAL TRADE AGREEMENTS

PREFERENTIAL TRADE AGREEMENTS

Historically, when countries entered into preference agreements they notified the GATT.
Between 1947 and 1992, there were 85 agreements that were notified while 77 new agreements
have been added since 1992. Strictly speaking, few of the trade agreements fully conform with
GATT requirements, although none was disallowed, Only Japan, Hong Kong, and South Korea
among the WTO members have not signed preferential trade agreement.

Free Trade Areas

(FTA) is formed when two or more countries agree to abolish all internal barriers to trade
among themselves. Countries who belong to the free trade area can do and maintain
independent trade policies with respect to non-FTA countries. A system of certificate of origin is
used to avoid trade diversion in favor of low-tariff members. This discourages importing goods
into the member country with the lower tariff for transshipment to countries within the area with
higher external tariffs. The European Economic area is an example of FTA which includes 27
nation European Union.

Customs Union
This represents the logical evolution of a free trade area. In addition to eliminating internal
barriers to trade, members of a custom union establish common external barriers. The
arrangement called for elimination of tariffs each year to the cost of European goods imported
each year. A type of trade bloc which is composed of a free trade area with a common external
tariff. Customs unions are established through trade pacts where the participant countries set
up common external trade policy. Common competition policy is also helpful to avoid
competition deficiency. Purposes for establishing a customs union normally include increasing
economic efficiency and establishing closer political and cultural ties between the member
countries.

Custom Market

It is the next step in the spectrum of economic integration. In addition to the

removal of internal barriers to trade and the establishments of common external barriers, the
common market allows for free movements of factors of production.

North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is a pact eliminating most
trade barriers between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico that went into effect on January 1, 1994.
Some of its provisions were implemented immediately; others were staggered over the following
15 years.

Andean Community

Andean Community, Spanish Comunidad Andina (CAN), formerly (1969–97) Andean

Group, South American organization founded to encourage industrial, agricultural, social, and
trade cooperation. Formed in 1969 by the Cartagena Agreement, the group originally consisted
of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Chile; Venezuela joined in 1973 but withdrew in 2006,
and Chile withdrew in 1977. Peru suspended its membership in 1992 but resumed it in 1997.
CAN’s headquarters are in Lima, Peru.

CAN’s Andean Integration System consists of several institutions, all of which

seek to facilitate integration. They include the Andean Presidential Council, an organization of
the presidents of member countries that coordinates integration efforts; the Commission of the
Andean Community, which is CAN’s primary policy-making institution; the Andean Parliament,
comprising members of national legislatures, though it was scheduled to become a directly
elected parliament early in the 21st century; the five-member Court of Justice of the Andean
Community, which interprets CAN laws to ensure that they are uniformly applied in each
country; the Latin American Reserve Fund, which seeks to harmonize monetary and fiscal
policies; the Andean Development Corporation, which encourages trade and investment; and
various business and labor advisory councils. Many of CAN’s goals, such as the establishment
of a custom union and the development of ambitious industrial programs, had not been realized
when the organization ratified the Quito Protocol in 1987, which aimed to strengthen the
organization’s institutions and reaffirmed its members’ commitment to closer economic relations.
In the 1990s CAN attempted, with mixed success, to achieve a level of economic integration
among its members similar to that of the European Union.

In 1993 a free trade zone was created for Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela. That
year the Andean Group also began negotiations to harmonize its customs policy and reached
an agreement in 1994 on a common external tariff that covered 90 percent of imports. CAN later
endorsed an accord between Colombia, Venezuela, and Mexico to phase out tariffs and began
developing a framework to define a joint foreign policy in 1998. In the same year, negotiations
with Mercusor (the Southern Common Market)—a South American regional economic
organization composed of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay—resulted in an agreement
to establish a free-trade zone from Mexico to Argentina. Following extensive negotiations, the
free-trade zone went into effect on July 1, 2004.
Asia Pacific

The Asia-Pacific region refers to the regions of East or Northeast Asia, Southeast
Asia. The region accounted for approximately 1/3 of global income since 1997. Japan as a
member country generates an astounding 14 percent of the world’s GNP!

https://apcss.org/about/ap-countries/

6. Module 4 Lesson 3- PREFERENTIAL TRADE AGREEMENTS

PART 2
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)

ASEAN is the Flagship preferential agreement in the Asia Pacific area. The Association
of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was formed in 1967 by Indonesia, Malaysia, the
Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand to promote political and economic cooperation and
regional stability. Brunei joined in 1984, shortly after its independence from the United Kingdom,
and Vietnam joined ASEAN as its seventh member in 1995. Laos and Burma were admitted into
full membership in July 1997 as ASEAN celebrated its 30th anniversary. Cambodia became
ASEAN’s tenth member in 1999.

The ASEAN Declaration in 1967, considered ASEAN’s founding document, formalized the
principles of peace and cooperation to which ASEAN is dedicated. The ASEAN Charter entered
into force on 15 December 2008. With the entry into force of the ASEAN Charter, ASEAN
established its legal identity as an international organization and took a major step in its
community-building process.

The ASEAN Community is comprised of three pillars, the Political-Security Community,

Economic Community and Socio-Cultural Community. Each pillar has its own Blueprint
approved at the summit level, and, together with the Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI)
Strategic Framework and IAI Work Plan Phase II (2009-2015), they form the Roadmap for and
ASEAN Community 2009-2015. ASEAN commands far greater influence on Asia-Pacific trade,
political, and security issues than its members could achieve individually. This has driven
ASEAN’s community building efforts. This work is based largely on consultation, consensus,
and cooperation.

U.S. relations with ASEAN have been excellent since its inception. The United States became a
Dialogue Partner country of ASEAN in 1977. Dialogue partners meet regularly with ASEAN at the
working and senior levels to guide the development of our regional relations. In July 2009,
Secretary Clinton signed the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC) which
has greatly enhanced U.S. political relations with ASEAN.

Every year following the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting, ASEAN holds its Post-Ministerial
Conference (PMC) to which the Secretary of State is invited. In 1994, ASEAN took the lead in
establishing the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), which now has 27 members and meets each
year at the ministerial level just after the PMC.

THE EUROPEAN UNION

European Union (EU), international organization comprising 27 European countries and

governing common economic, social, and security policies. Originally confined to western
Europe, the EU undertook a robust expansion into central and eastern Europe in the early 21st
century. The EU’s members are The EU-28 is the abbreviation of European Union (EU) which
consists a group of 28 countries (Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany,
Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg,
Hungary, Malta, Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland,
Sweden. The United Kingdom, which had been a founding member of the EU, left the
organization in 2020. The EU was created by the Maastricht Treaty, which entered into force on
November 1, 1993. The treaty was designed to enhance European political and economic
integration by creating a single currency (the euro), a unified foreign and security policy, and
common citizenship rights and by advancing cooperation in the areas of immigration, asylum,
and judicial affairs. The EU was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 2012, in recognition of the
organization’s efforts to promote peace and democracy in Europe.

THE MIDDLE EAST

Middle East, the lands around the southern and eastern shores of the Mediterranean
Sea, encompassing at least the Arabian Peninsula and, by some definitions, Iran, North Africa,
and sometimes beyond. The central part of this general area was formerly called the Near East,
a name given to it by some of the first modern Western geographers and historians, who tended
to divide what they called the Orient into three regions. Near East applied to the region nearest
Europe, extending from the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf; Middle East, from the
Persian Gulf to Southeast Asia; and Far East, those regions facing the Pacific Ocean. The
member countries include: Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Syria, UAE, Lebanon, Oman,
Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Yemen.

Although the countries listed above are the most commonly included in the term "Middle East,"
various interpretations include additional countries. Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia are
sometimes included due to their location in the Southern Caucus region bordering Turkey as
well as Azerbaijan's majority Muslim population. The Middle East, especially when used by the
American government, is used interchangeable with the "Muslim World" and tends to include
Afghanistan and Pakistan.

ECONOMIC COOPERATION OF WEST AFRICAN STATES

Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), African organization

established by the Treaty of Lagos in May 1975 to promote economic trade, cooperation, and
self-reliance. The organization seeks to harmonize agricultural policies and to facilitate the free
movement of peoples, services, and capital between members. The member countries are:
Benin, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Mauritana, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra
Leone, Togo.

South African Development Community

The Southern African Development Coordinating Conference (SADCC), established on 1

April 1980 was the precursor of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). The
SADCC was transformed into the SADC on 17 August 1992 in Windhoek, Namibia where the
SADC Treaty was adopted, redefining the basis of cooperation among Member States from a
loose association into a legally binding arrangement. The main objectives of SADC are to
achieve development, peace and security, and economic growth, to alleviate poverty, enhance
the standard and quality of life of the peoples of Southern Africa, and support the socially
disadvantaged through regional integration, built on democratic principles and equitable and
sustainable development. Member countries include: Angola, Botswana, Comoros, Democratic
Republic of Congo, Eswatini, Lesoto, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritus, Mozambique, Namibia,
Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

ORGANIZATION OF THE PETROLEUM EXPORTING COUNTRIES (OPEC)

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is an intergovernmental

organization of 14 nations, founded on 14 September 1960 in Baghdad by the first five
members, and headquartered since 1965 in Vienna, Austria. As of September 2018, the then 14
member countries accounted for an estimated 44 percent of global oil production and 81.5
percent of the world's "proven" oil reserves, giving OPEC a major influence on global oil prices
that were previously determined by the so-called "Seven Sisters" grouping of multinational oil
companies.

OPEC is founded as the result of a meeting that took place in the Iraqi capital of
Baghdad, attended by the five founding members of the organization. Member countries are:
(Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Venezuela, Nigeria, Libya, Algeria, Angola,
Qatar, and Ecuador.)
 7. Module 4 Lesson 4-THE BRETTON WOOD SYSTEM,
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND
MACDONALDIZATION OF SOCIETY
THE BRETTON WOODS SYSTEM

The Bretton Woods system of monetary management established the rules for
commercial and financial relations among the United States, Canada, Western European
countries, Australia, and Japan after the 1944 Bretton Woods Agreement. The Bretton Woods
system was the first example of a fully negotiated monetary order intended to govern monetary
relations among independent states. The chief features of the Bretton Woods system were an
obligation for each country to adopt a monetary policy that maintained its external exchange
rates within 1 percent by tying its currency to gold and the ability of the IMF to bridge temporary
imbalances of payments. Also, there was a need to address the lack of cooperation among
other countries and to prevent competitive devaluation of the currencies as well.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) was expected to safeguard the smooth
functioning of the gold-exchange standard by providing short-term financial assistance in case
of temporary balance of payment difficulties.

DEVELOPING COUNTRIES AND INTERNATIONALTRADE

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) was established
in 1964 as a permanent intergovernmental body.

UNCTAD is the part of the UN Secretariat dealing with trade, investment, and development
issues. The organization's goals are to: "maximize the trade, investment and development
opportunities of developing countries and assist them in their efforts to integrate into the world
economy on an equitable basis". UNCTAD was established by the UN General Assembly in 1964
and it reports to the UN General Assembly and ECOSOC.

The primary objective of UNCTAD is to formulate policies relating to all aspects of development
including trade, aid, transport, finance and technology. The conference ordinarily meets once in
four years; the permanent secretariat is in Geneva.

One of the principal achievements of UNCTAD (1964) has been to conceive and implement the
Generalize System of Preferences (GSP). It was argued in UNCTAD that to promote exports of
manufactured goods from developing countries, it would be necessary to offer special tariff
concessions to such exports. Accepting this argument, the developed countries formulated the
GSP scheme under which manufacturers' exports and import of some agricultural goods from
the developing countries enter duty-free or at reduced rates in the developed countries. Since
imports of such items from other developed countries are subject to the normal rates of duties,
imports of the same items from developing countries would enjoy a competitive advantage.

The creation of UNCTAD in 1964 was based on concerns of developing countries over the
international market, multi-national corporations, and great disparity between developed nations
and developing nations. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development was
established to provide a forum where the developing countries could discuss the problems
relating to their economic development. The organization grew from the view that existing
institutions like GATT (now replaced by the WTO), the (IMF), and World Bank were not properly
organized to handle the particular problems of developing countries. Later, in the 1970s and
1980s, UNCTAD was closely associated with the idea of a New International Economic Order
(NIEO).

The first UNCTAD conference took place in Geneva in 1964, the second in New Delhi in 1968,
the third in Santiago in 1972, fourth in Nairobi in 1976, the fifth in Manila in 1979, the sixth in
Belgrade in 1983, the seventh in Geneva in 1987, the eighth in Cartagena in 1992, the ninth at
Johannesburg (South Africa) in 1996, the tenth in Bangkok (Thailand) in 2000, the eleventh in
Sao Paulo (Brazil) in 2004, the twelfth in Accra in 2008, the thirteenth in Doha (Qatar) in 2012
and the fourteenth in Nairobi (Kenya) in 2016.

Currently, UNCTAD has 195 member states and is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.
UNCTAD has 400 staff members and a bi-annual (2010–2011) regular budget of $138 million in
core expenditures and $72 million in extra-budgetary technical assistance funds. It is a member
of the UN Development Group. There are non-governmental organizations participating in the
activities of UNCTAD.

The Uruguay Round was the 8th round of multilateral trade negotiations conducted
within the framework of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, spanning from 1986 to
1993 and embracing 123 countries as "contracting parties". The Round led to the creation of the
World Trade Organization, with GATT remaining as an integral part of the WTO agreements. The
broad mandate of the Round had been to extend GATT trade rules to areas previously exempted
as too difficult to liberalize and increasingly important new areas previously not included. The
Round came into effect in 1995 with deadlines ending in 2000 under the administrative direction
of the newly created World Trade Organization.

6 (SIX) IMPORTANT FACTS ABOUT INTERNATIONAL TRADE

The world’s most impressive ports are in cities marked by trade. Although Geneva does not
even have a port for container ships, it is still a global hub for trade. The World Trade
Organization (WTO), the International Trade Centre (ITC) and the United Nations Conference on
Trade and Development (UNCTAD) are at the core of this hub. But there are a number of other
international organizations that work on trade-related issues including the United Nations
Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), the South Centre and the International Labor
Organization (ILO) that are anchored in Geneva.

Furthermore, with over 400 trading companies, Geneva is also a big trading hub for
commodities. It accounts for roughly on third of world trading in oil, rice and cereals and for
about half of the global coffee and sugar trade.

Our daily lives are highly influenced by trade yet we hardly think about it. Did you know that...

1) Less tariffs means greater trade. Over the past 20 years, an average tariff reduction of 15%
helped to quadruple trade worldwide! That has not only helped to boost local economies but
also to increase the global standards for health, security and environment, which in turn
increase average life expectancy.

2)There is no need for trade wars. The WTO has handled over 500 trade disputes in the last two
decades. This resolves conflicts and reduces trade tensions, so that trade can flow more freely
and easily, which also increases your country’s exports.

3) Trade brings prices down. Trade liberalizing measures increased more than 60% in recent
years, which has helped to bring down the prices of imports. This translates into spending less
on our purchases.

4) More trade means more choices. The WTO now has 161 member countries, which account
for about 98% of world trade! So, the more countries get included in global trade, the greater
your choice of products is when we go shopping (and the more economic growth will be
stimulated)!

5) Innovation fuels trade. Patent applications rose by 9% in 2013. They help extend trade and
will eventually find their way into our smartphones, cars, houses or gadget which don’t even
exist today.

6)Trade fights poverty. By increasing their share in world trade, least developed countries
(LDCs) reduced poverty (defined as people living with less than 1,25 USD a day) from 65% of the
population in 1990 to 45% in 2010! This contributed to the inclusion of more and more people
into the riches of world trade, not only cutting living costs, but also raising living standards
globally.
It’s important to note that trade is not always the solution to poverty or fragile economies but it
can help boost local economies, increase employment and bring people together. Like ships
that get loaded and unloaded, we can look at Geneva as a global trade hub that discharges old
trade policies and replaces them with new ones so we have an updated trading system that
works for all. Have a look at our infographic that gives a snapshot of the impact Geneva has on
trade.

THE MCDONALDIZATION OF SOCIETY

(Ritzer 1993) refers to the increasing presence of the fast food business model in common
social institutions. This business model includes efficiency (the division of labor), predictability,
calculability, and control (monitoring). For example, in your average chain grocery store, people
at the register check out customers while stockers keep the shelves full of goods and deli
workers slice meats and cheese to order (efficiency). Whenever you enter a store within that
grocery chain, you receive the same type of goods, see the same store organization, and find
the same brands at the same prices (predictability). You will find that goods are sold by the
pound, so that you can weigh your fruit and vegetable purchase rather than simply guessing at
the price for that bag of onions, while the employees use a timecard to calculate their hours and
receive overtime pay (calculability). Finally, you will notice that all store employees are wearing
a uniform (and usually a name tag) so that they can be easily identified. There are security
cameras to monitor the store, and some parts of the store, such as the stockroom, are generally
considered off-limits to customers (control). While McDonaldization has resulted in improved
profits and an increased availability of various goods and services to more people worldwide, it
has also reduced the variety of goods available in the marketplace while rendering available
products uniform, generic, and bland. Think of the difference between a mass-produced shoe
and one made by a local cobbler, between a chicken from a family-owned farm and a corporate
grower, or between a cup of coffee from the local diner and one from Starbucks.