| Abstrakt: |
International trade organizations in contemporary time have mostly failed in their stated missions of protecting software companies and protecting poor countries. Global software piracy rates are increasing, and problems appear more prominent than do solutions in the discourse after decades of efforts to improve trade situations, and even to define what constitutes "improvement." In order to establish the problems and demonstrate reasons for them, a brief introduction of the system of regulation of world trade as it has evolved is presented, along with frequently offered reasons for failures in the system. Next, a discussion of contemporary trade in computer software is included, with particular emphasis on piracy and trade sanctions in Ukraine. Finally, comments and practices of parties to piracy and trade regulation are presented and analyzed, including unfair trade practices as various trade partners describe them. Foucauldian (1972) analysis, specifically the examination of the international trade texts as "discursive formations," is conducted. Foucault's (1972) critical scheme consists of a set of questions designed to uncover potential discursive formations and, thereby, systems of knowledge, power, and ethics. Foucault provides a heuristic system of 12 questions that are presented in four functional areas: objects, enunciative modalities, concepts, or strategies. The analysis leads to some conclusions about the nature of piracy and the efforts and effects of international trade regulation activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
