Does the international trade-system help promote peace? : a critical study of WTO's first benefit within the theoretical frames of peace- and development studies

Abstract

The World Trade Organization claims to help keep peace in their declaration Ten Benefits of the WTO trading system (WTO 2008a). This thesis is a critical study of this peace claim within the frames of both peace- and development studies. The main argument of the thesis is that the peace claim of WTO is exaggerated. When adopting peace studies own definitions of peace and view it together with WTO’s narrow peace definition, the peace claim of WTO is up for debate. Current globalization and trade processes, conducted in the realm of neoliberal policies, causes marginalization and deprivation for poor countries and poor people. What development studies labels as deprivation and marginalization are within peace studies labeled structural violence. When structural violence is present there cannot be peace. It is the main argument of this paper that WTO and the international trade system inflict structural violence.