Bilateralism versus Multilateralism in Air Transport

I have been having a look at The Air Transport Review at the WTO: Bilateralism versus Multilateralism written by Cecilia Genevieve Decurtins as her thesis for a doctorate in international relations. She completed it at the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva in 2007.

She uses negotiation theory to examine aspects of the first review carried out under the GATS Air Transport Services Annex held at the World Trade Organization in Geneva (see previous post). (The second review is currently underway.)

Decurtins highlights the positions taken by Australia, Chile, the European Union, New Zealand, Brazil, Canada, Japan and the United States, and examines the probable reasons why each country adopted the positions that it did.

As an active participant in the very small New Zealand delegation at the meetings concerned in Geneva, it is fascinating to see what an outsider made of them and the related papers. It is also an excellent example of how open the formal part of the WTO processes can be.

Decurtins has worked at IATA and knows her subject well.