Power, Politics, and Higher Education in Southern Africa: International Regimes, Local Governments, and Educational Autonomy
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Power, Politics, and Higher Education in Southern Africa: Interna ...

Chapter 1:  Introduction
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This is actually not my experience. In recent years, developing countries and even the poorest least developing countries have had the opportunity to defend their rights in the WTO. For example, through recourse to dispute settlement. If anything, the legalistic system of the WTO helps countries assert their rights. Also, by creating a multilateral framework, where developing countries are the majority and decisions are adopted by consensus. This is better than having small countries negotiate one-on-one with larger nations. Admittedly, large obstacles remain for the effective participation of developing countries. Among them, the relative lack of resources, including experts on WTO rules and procedures.

The conversation between Lamy and the online group suggests two perceptions: the perception that developing countries are at the mercy of more powerful countries despite the fact that a regime is formed to arbitrate possible abuses of power; and the perception that without a regime, the least powerful within an international system would be at the mercy of the more powerful. While the former perception undermines the relevance of regimes in arbitrating power dynamics, the latter perception exalts regime creation as the only way to avoid the exploitation of the less powerful members.

The perception that without a regime, the least powerful within an international system would be at the mercy of the more powerful is plausible in relation to the arbitration of the interactions among the members of a given regime; however, I argue that a world dependent on regimes allows room for potential conflicts because regimes exist in two international dimensions: global and regional. A critical question is: What regime will have the last word when the role of these regimes intercepts over one common interest? This is the key question that led me to tackle the issue raised by the Association of African Universities (AAU), classified here as a regional international regime (RIR), in relation to the World Trade Organization’s General Agreement on Trade and Services (WTO/GATS), classified here as a global international regime (GIR).