The Big Implications of a Small but Straddling Case

Abstract

The dominant theme that ties many of the key elements of the Antigua-US case together is its straddling quality. The popular image of struggle reinforces the frameworks established by both Antigua and the United States; that the protracted dispute inside and outside the WTO hinged on different claims of morality. The dispute centered on a clear delineation between the assertion by the United States that the offshore IG industry was a present danger to the social order, and the alternative argument by Antigua that the outcome of the case served as a test of whether the international system was fair and equitable or not. The representative image of a tough but indispensable disciplinarian (or Goliath) ran head-on into the portrait of a small but steadfast ‘David’ (Friedman and Kakstys, 2008). The need to prohibit an unacceptable variant of Casino Capitalism that contravened US laws and/or community standards was offset against demands for justice which privileged the logic of niche creation in innovative service areas without targeting by a self-righteous, hypocritical, and bullying global policeman.