Little by little the elephant grows big: African influence in global economic governance

While the familiar litany of African marginality to world politics and global markets tells us not to expect African states to wield much influence, there have been some surprises. Why were four of the poorest countries in the world able to negotiate concessions from the United States with respect to support for American cotton producers? And why was the African Group at the World Trade Organization able to earn access to patent-protected HIV/AIDS medications? This dissertation considers why the influence of African states in global economic governance varies.;My core argument is that the institutional environments surrounding areas of global governance impact the use of coalitions. This is important to African states, since coalitions are usually a crucial part of their strategies to influence international institutions. This analysis differs from many current approaches to understanding state influence and participation. First, I take a dynamic, historical perspective and consider how norms, interests, and key events affect institutional structures relevant to African influence. Second, I find that the existence of multiple institutions with overlapping authority in a given issue-area generates unexpected political dynamics, dynamics that are especially important in their impact on coalition-based strategies.;I evaluate my theoretical claims in three areas of global governance. First, I find that agricultural trade governance is characterized by hierarchical relations among a dense network of institutions. The World Trade Organization, at the top of the governance hierarchy, serves as a useful focal point for African collective action. In contrast, food safety governance involves a set of integrated institutions that perform complementary legislative, adjudicative and enforcement functions. The need to coordinate across multiple technically-complicated institutions creates major obstacles for African participation, collective action, and influence. Finally, I examine African influence in intellectual property governance. I find that forum-manipulation and issue-linkage strategies are particularly important in this environment where institutions are not hierarchically related. Legal analysis, content analysis, and in-depth interviews with participants in global governance inform the study.