Tobi Taylor

MA International Relations

I’m Tobi Taylor from the Yoruba tribe of Nigeria. I was born in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. I attended my primary and junior secondary school in Ibadan. I moved with my family to Abuja, the Nigerian capital city where I completed my secondary education. I was admitted to the University of Abuja where I studied English and Literary Studies.

After graduation, I studied French part time and earned a Diploma in French Language. I worked at the department of International Cultural Relations at the Federal Ministry of Culture in Nigeria. I took a break from work to further my studies at Anglia Ruskin University where I currently study MA International Relations. My favourite hobbies are reading mystery novels, listening to music by Beyoncé and mountain climbing. I'm also a crazy cat lady!!

I am an MA International Relations student who is interested in the role international institutions play in today's globalised world. I recently researched the World Trade Organisation to investigate if, with the promotion of free trade, the institution equally serves the interests of the Global North and the Global South. Free trade is the free flow of goods and services without interventions and restrictions from the government. With free trade, countries have a comparative advantage because they specialise in producing goods and services which they are best at.

Applying the neo-colonial theory I found out that the institution, which is a creation of the Global North, uses free trade to dominate the Global South. The Global North comprises developed and industrialised countries while the Global South is made up of developing countries. The infant industries of the Global South cannot compete with the industrialised countries of the Global North because the developed countries flood the market of the developing countries with cheap products. These infant industries eventually fold up and the economies of the developing countries continue to get poorer making them dependent on the developed countries economically and politically. Thus, the WTO does not equally serve the two regions.