In international relations, short-run incentives for non-cooperation often dominate. Yet, (external) institutions for enforcing cooperation are hampered by national sovereignty, supposedly strengthening the role of selfenforcing mechanisms. This paper examines their scope with a focus on...

Small and large countries show divergent behavior in the dispute settlement process of the WTO. Disputes that involve larger economies are more likely to result in litigation. Moreover, in a dispute between a large country and a small country, litigation is more likely if the small country is...