Of Haves and Have-Nots: A Review of Developing Countries and the Multilateral Trade Regime: The Failure and Promise of the WTO’s Development Mission

Gregory W. Bowman, West Virginia University College of Law

Abstract

The subject of international trade, with its many promises and perils, has spawned a vast body of literature. In “Developing Countries and the Multilateral Trade Regime: The Failure and Promise of the WTO’s Development Mission,” Dr. Donatella Alessandrini reviews the international development efforts of the past century and presents a Marxist narrative of how developing countries have been disadvantaged by the multilateral trade regime.

This book review evaluates Alessandrini’s historical narrative and critique, and also discusses several other possible narratives (which are not explored in the book) that both could complement Alessandrini’s existing narrative and serve as avenues for further analysis and exploration of developing countries within the international trade regime.