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

为了总结潜在的研究问题，我的目标是理解为什么诸边贸易集团越来越多地自行谈判自由贸易协定；他们在什么条件下谈判区域间自由贸易协定，而不是诉诸双边协定；地区间主义是否正在成为拖延多边谈判的另一种选择。本研究建议将提出这样的论点，即区域间的自由贸易协定和此类条约的谈判在性质上不同于双边自由贸易协定，需要关注其内部政治和经济动态，以便了解其对外经济政策。此外，它还将指出，停滞不前的多边多哈回合激励了诸边贸易集团越来越多地采取自己的行动，而且，尽管一体化程度很深，但贸易集团的内部构成是形成共同对外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，即作为一个贸易集团采取统一行动的能力增强，会促使各国在多边贸易谈判（即世贸组织的多哈回合谈判）中寻求妥协。

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.