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ON-LINE
RESOURCES FOR THE SEATTLE WTO CASE |
Battle in Seattle | Part
1 | Part 2 | Part
3 | Issue Note | Security
| Budget | On-line Resources |
Often
when we are teaching cases in the classroom, students pose substantive
questions about issues or details not covered in the text of the case.
Teaching notes are helpful in supplementing the information
available in the case itself. In
this particular case, there is also a wealth of documentation from
various sources that is available on-line.
Ready access to this material offers teachers and students alike
an opportunity to delve into considerably greater detail, should they so
desire. It can also give
both students and teachers an opportunity to pursue a particular line of
argument or investigation and check to see what the record reveals.
On the other hand, too much information can also be a challenge.
As with most challenges, however, this too provides an
opportunity to learn. Students
who do decide to pursue further information via the web will soon find a
dense forest of material, one in which they can easily become lost among
the trees and lose sight of the bigger picture. This is where the teacher can also work with students to
decide how much information is just enough.
In my experience, I have found that some students don’t know
where or when to look for more information and other students don’t
know when to stop. Thus the
wealth of information available on-line can offer a hands-on exercise in
learning to make these kinds of assessment.
As with the case itself, the pursuit of more information can be
used as an individual or a group exercise.
For example, if a particular question of fact arises, students
can be divided into teams to search for answers.
Each team can then present its findings to the class with the
teams “refereeing” each other’s work. The teaching case is designed so that it is not necessary to go beyond the material presented in the text itself. However, since the case is well-documented, here is a guide to some of the most pertinent and interesting materials available on-line. Many of these have been archived to the disk that accompanies this case.
Organizations & Documentation World
Trade Organization
http://www.wto.org/index.html The World Trade Organization’s site can be accessed
in English, Spanish and French. The
site is regularly updated. It
includes the annual reports and summaries materials from each of the
Ministerial meetings.
http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/whatis_e.htm
http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/eol/e/default.htm
http://www.wto.org/wto/english/thewto_e/minist_e/min99_e/english/about_e/03bgd_e.htm Office of the United States Trade Representative http://www.ustr.gov Students not familiar with the USTR’s role in trade
policy should be encouraged to explore the site. On the tab index at the top of the homepage, you will find
“WTO and Multilateral Affairs.”
This takes you to a page with links to multilateral trade
organizations with whom the USTR interacts, including the WTO.
http://www.ustr.gov/wto/ministerial.shtml Washington Council on International Trade http://www.wcit.org In reading the case, students will quickly discover
that WCIT plays a key role in the case.
The organization’s website provides good background information
on the organization’s history, membership, and activities. (Students may also note internship opportunities are
available.) Teachers may be
interested in exploring WCIT’s trade curriculum materials available as
part of the International Trade Education Foundation (ITEF), a
non-profit educational group organized under the auspices of WCIT.
http://www.wcit.org/wto.htm
U.S. Department of State International Information Programs http://usinfo.state.gov At this website, students can access official
information, press releases, texts of documents and proposals, etc.
released by the U.S. Department of State.
http://usinfo.state.gov/topical/econ/wto99/ This page gives current and past information and documents detailing the U.S. government’s official positions regarding the WTO.
Accountability Review Committee (ARC) This website offers the most comprehensive and
detailed accounts of what occurred leading up to and during the Third
Ministerial from a local perspective.
In the aftermath of the riots in Seattle, the Seattle Police
Department submitted an “After Action Report” (see below). This was widely regarded as inadequate for a number of
reasons. Some felt that the
After Action Report was written to vindicate members of the police force
who appeared in video footage to have used unnecessary force against
peaceful demonstrators while seemingly unable to handle violence and
vandalism. Other members of
the community wanted a more comprehensive investigation that also looked
at how the WTO came to Seattle in the first place and who should be held
responsible for the expenses incurred by City departments as a
consequence of the events that unfolded during the last week of November
and the first week of December 1999. The ARC had three subcommittees or “panels”: Panel One:
WTO Invitational
http://www.pan.ci.seattle.wa.us/seattle/wtocommittee/panel1.htm http://www.pan.ci.seattle.wa.us/seattle/wtocommittee/panel1_budget.htm Panel Two:
Preparation and Planning The emphasis in this panel’s report, based on its
charge, was on security concerns and arrangements made among various law
enforcement agencies and protest groups.
Unfortunately for the purposes of the teaching case, there is
little discussion of other aspects of planning for the WTO meetings that
were also neglected. For
example, there is only limited consideration of the credentialing
problems that arose during the meetings and which might have posed a
significant problem had demonstrators decided to try to penetrate the
actual meeting venue. Panel Three:
Operations This panel’s report focuses in particular on the
activities of various law enforcement agencies in response to the
protests as well as criminal activity that began the weekend before the
official opening of the WTO Ministerial.
This panel’s report is particularly useful for its detailed
chronology of events. In
conjunction with this part of the case, students may find it interesting
to look at the detailed interactive “incident maps” that show where
police and protesters were located throughout the Seattle downtown area. For easy access, many of the sites can be accessed
through links on the “WTO Resources” page and the independent
consultant’s report reviewing police and security operations by R.M.
McCarthy and Associates can also be downloaded from this page: http://www.pan.ci.seattle.wa.us/seattle/wtocommittee/resources.htm Seattle Police Department After Action Report This report, dated April 4, 2000, was just the
beginning of the process of reviewing what happened before and during
the WTO Third Ministerial. Public Security Committee Operations
Plan This is an important document for parts one and two of the case study. A summary of the main points of this plan is included as Attachment 3 to part one of the teaching case. Local
News Coverage Seattle Times http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/wto/ (now defunct; this is why their coverage ends rather
abruptly) Seattle Post-Intelligencer http://seattlep-i.nwsource.com/wto/ This site has been continuously updated to include
later developments, including the anniversary protests on November 30,
2000.
Other Related Websites Institute for International Economics http://www.iie.com A Washington-based think tank engaged in
policy-relevant research related to international economic activity,
finance, and trade issues. International Centre for Trade & Sustainable Development http://www.ictsd.org ICTSD is an independent non-profit and
non-governmental organisation that engages “a broad range of actors in
ongoing dialogue about trade and sustainable development.” ICTSD
provides “original, non-partisan reporting and facilitation services
at the intersection of international trade and sustainable
development.”
Trilateral Commission http://www.trilateral.org The Trilateral Commission, launched in
1973, brings together high level unofficial representatives of the
public and private sectors in Europe, the U.S., Canada, and Japan to
discuss issues of common concern. The theme of the 2001 annual meeting
of the Trilateral Commission focused on “Globalization and
Governance.” Many of the speeches made reference to the events in
Seattle and the aftermath. World Economic Forum http://www.weforum.org Held in Davos, Switzerland each January,
the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum is often a focal point
for current debates about international economic policy issues. WEF
brings together selected participants from government, industry,
business, labor, and finance to discuss issues of common concern. It’s
worth noting that the theme for the 2001 meeting was “Globalization
and Governance.” Many of the speeches are available in both text and
audio online at the WEF website. Public Eye on Davos http://www.davos2001.ch Public Eye on Davos is a joint initiative
of non-governmental organizations that are signatories to the Berne
Declaration, also known as EVB, (http://www.evb.ch/bd/index.html) for
solidaristic development. For the first time in January 2001, EVB
maintained a running commentary on the Davos meetings via this website. Photo Gallery of 1999 WTO Meetings Maps detailing WTO Events Website of The Institute for Trade & Commercial Diplomacy
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