Introduction

Abstract

Because of the dominance of American realist approaches to the study of international political economy we have become accustomed to the great power world of international relations.¹ But unless we give attention to the role of middle level participants in the international political economy we cannot understand fully the evolution of cooperation in multilateral institutions such as the World Trade Organization. Recent trends like the rise in economic power of Japan and the European Union, the creation of regional trade blocs like the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the growth of private actors such as multinational corporations generate a diffusion of power in the international political economy, reducing the ability of hegemonic powers to dictate outcomes. Therefore, an understanding of the influence of actors other than great powers is essential to understanding the contemporary international political economy.