Countries today navigate a multipolar world defined by tensions between great powers. How do middle powers, small states, and Global South countries fare in this geopolitical landscape? Can they shape new international agreements on emerging, divisive topics, like trade-and-environment issues? To explore this question, I investigate the twenty years of negotiations that led to a new treaty seeking to preserve the global commons: the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies (AFS). Using text-as-data analyses and a rich trove of WTO documents, I investigate the sources of the treaty text. I find that middle powers, small states, and countries from the Global South contributed to the agreement; they did so by forming coalitions with like-minded countries. The findings demonstrate that a wider range of states can effectively participate in international negotiations than traditionally assumed.

当今各国正处于一个由大国之间的紧张关系所定义的多极世界中。中等强国、小国和南半球国家在这种地缘政治格局中表现如何？他们能否就贸易和环境问题等新兴的、有分歧的话题制定新的国际协议？为了探讨这个问题，我调查了二十年的谈判，最终达成了一项旨在保护全球公域的新条约：世界贸易组织 (WTO) 渔业补贴协议 (AFS)。我利用文本即数据分析和丰富的世贸组织文件来调查条约文本的来源。我发现中等强国、小国和南半球国家为该协议做出了贡献；他们通过与志同道合的国家结成联盟来做到这一点。研究结果表明，比传统假设的更广泛的国家能够有效参与国际谈判。