Samenvatting

The aim of this dissertation is to analyze whether non-state actors, in the form of international governmental
organizations, make states irrelevant within the global political arena. There has been a shift in the division
of power in the political sphere as a result of trade openness. Indeed, international organizations (IO), such
as the World Trade Organization (WTO), have significantly reduced the political power of individual states.
Due to the rapid growth of supranational organizations, states must balance and rebalance their defense of
national sovereignty.
Through an analysis of the existing literature, four in-depth interviews and a social survey, the impact of
trade openness on the political power of individual states is analyzed. The literature review demonstrates
that realism and liberalism have developed on opposites of the theoretical spectrum. While realists generally
perceive trade openness and international cooperation negatively, liberals view trade openness quite
differently. Realists believe that a state should always be absolute and have supreme authority over
everything. As such, realists view it as destructive when a state relinquishes a portion of their authority to
a supranational organization. Conversely, liberals believe supranational organizations make it possible to
stabilize the international system’s anarchic environment. As the interviews confirm, organizations such as
the WTO create a platform whereby states can establish a basic set of rules to create a more peaceful
international environment. Furthermore, the WTO is able to settle disputes in a neutral way, ultimately
settling such issues before they become conflicts between different nations.
Countries that tend to conduct politics using a realist approach have seen their political powers significantly
reduced by the WTO’s liberal approach. This is especially the case for countries that try to protect their
domestic markets through the obstruction of foreign competitors; These countries often find themselves in
positions where their individual political power has been reduced. However, it is necessary to determine
whether this means that the state has become irrelevant. In a number of ways, supranational organizations
design the structure of the international system. Nevertheless, these organizations are driven by the states
who have created them. The dilemma that arises here, then, is that the existence of IOs is entirely a result
of the states’ demands. Indeed, states create the IO and design the authorities of the IO. Therefore, states
collectively agree to relinquish a portion of their sovereignty.