Will Russia Ever Join the WTO?

Abstract:

Why would Russia, a major power, be thwarted for fourteen years in its attempt to join the World Trade Organization (WTO)?

Through a detailed examination of Russia's WTO accession negotiations, the diplomatic processes of the WTO's accession procedures are uncovered, showing that this diplomacy is best understood as a complex process where state-level factors and international regime-level factors, such as the rules and conditions of accession, interact.