Sovereignty after Uruguay: A critical analysis of the impact of the Uruguay Round and the World Trade Organization on continued nation-state sovereignty

This dissertation upholds the proposition that the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Uruguay Round pose a direct threat to the sovereignty of nation-states by corroborating the following two sub-propositions. First, the newly created dispute resolution system (DRS) of the WTO impairs sovereignty. Second, trade agreements established during the Uruguay Round exacerbate this impairment.; With regards to Sub-proposition One, it is first demonstrated that the rules and regulations incorporated into the new dispute resolution system are logically incompatible with sovereignty. Next, empirical evidence corroborates that sovereignty is impaired when this system is used. Finally, quantitative evidence reveals that the use of this new system and the consequent impairment of sovereignty is significant and can be expected to increase.; Sub-proposition Two is then considered in Chapter Five. Here it is shown that the new trade agreements signed during the Uruguay Round enhance the range and scope of nation-state laws and policies susceptible to challenge before the new DRS; that nations are increasingly taking advantage of these new agreements to challenge one another's laws and policies before the new DRS; and that such challenges impair sovereignty on a significant level.