Trade blocs as actors in the international trade order: The political economy of common economic foreign policy and inter-bloc trade agreements

总结基本的研究问题，我的目的是了解诸边贸易集团为何越来越多地自行谈判PTA；它们在什么条件下谈判区域间PTA而不是诉诸双边协议；以及区域间主义是否正在成为陷入停滞的多边谈判的替代方案。这项研究提案将提出这样的论点，即区域间临时贸易协定和这类条约的谈判在性质上不同于双边临时贸易协定，需要重点关注其内部政治和经济动态，以了解其外交经济政策。此外，它将辩称，停滞不前的多边多哈回合激励诸边贸易集团越来越多地自行行动，尽管一体化程度很高，但贸易集团的内部构成是形成共同外交经济政策的最重要决定因素。此外，它还将提出这样一种观点，即加强作为一个贸易集团采取统一行动的能力，会降低在多边贸易谈判--即世贸组织多哈回合--中寻求妥协的动力。

To summarise the underlying research question, I aim at understanding why plurilateral trade blocs increasingly negotiate PTAs on their own; under what conditions they negotiate inter-regionalPTAs instead of resorting to bilateral agreements; and whether inter-regionalism is becoming an alternative to stalling multilateral negotiations. This research proposal will bring forward the argument that inter-regional PTAs and negotiations of such treaties are qualitatively different from bilateral PTAs and require a focus on their internal political and economic dynamics in order to understand their foreign economic policy. Further, it willargue that the stalling multilateral Doha round has incentivised plurilateral trade blocks to increasingly act on their own as well as that, notwithstanding the depth of integration, the internal composition oftrade blocs is the most significant determinant of the formation of a common foreign economic policy. Moreover, it will bring forward the argument that increased capacity to act uniformly as a trade blocreduces incentives to seek compromise in multilateral trade negotiations, namely the WTO's Doha round.