The State as an Agent of Trade Justice

Abstract

This chapter theorizes the normative role of states in the global order generally and in trade specifically. One challenge for a theory of multiple grounds of justice is that an assignment of duties is not straightforward. A theory of global justice that recognizes multiple grounds requires a differentiated vocabulary to outline obligations for different agents, some designed to fit the role and importance of states for global justice, and some designed for other actors. The chapter develops the constrained agency perspective from Chapter 6 (which started to work with some of that vocabulary) for the role of the state within a pluralistic theory of global justice.