Description
This paper develops the concept of ontogenerative power to explain how new domains of global governance come into being. It traces the relational, creative process that enabled the emergence and successful negotiation of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). While research on the GATS’s origins remains limited, this study builds on the seminal work of Drake and Nicolaidis (1992) on epistemic communities and draws on extensive archival and interview analysis of services discussions from the 1960s up to and through the Uruguay Round negotiations. The analysis shows how countries, international institutions/secretariat, and external business and academic stakeholders engaged in ontogenerative power dynamics —transforming what was once seen as a non-tradable activity into a governed, rules-based global regime for services trade.
