對戰後中華民國外交的批判中最為嚴厲的一點，或許是「漢賊不兩立」。這樣的責難，幾乎抹煞了中華民國政府及外交官員們在政府遷台以來的外交努力，使得這一段看似已然定論的歷史，彷彿就是一段充滿挫折與敗退的過去。然而，不能否認的是，中華民國政府至今仍存續於台灣，且存活得極好，政府在外交及經貿上的作為，也確實頗具成績，不盡然如僅以邦交國數量看來地一無是處。本文便基於此，重行考察政府遷台之後，面對國際冷戰局面的變化，利用其看得見的手，以外交和經貿間的搭配，透過刻意的貿商活動及刻意的貿商阻撓，以國際為舞台謀生存、圖空間的努力。對外經貿實為中華民國政府捍衛、開拓外交關係上，極為重要的一項，隨著台灣這一經濟體的成長，也加重了中華民國政府在國際間的重要性，使中華民國政府在今日仍得以堅強的經貿實力為後盾，與諸國來往交流，從外交拓展經貿，到經貿鞏固外交，這是一條必須以歷史縱深觀察的發展脈絡。

yes / Not only is the participation of developing countries in international trade negotiations growing, so is their influence over the global trade agenda. This article highlights the increasing activism and impact of African states through a detailed study of the current Economic Partnership Agreement (EPAs) negotiations with the European Union (EU). In examining African resistance to EPAs, the article develops a constructivist approach to North-South trade negotiations that pays close attention to the role of development discourses. We argue that the growing willingness of African states to challenge the EU to deliver on its development promises during the decade-long EPA process was crucial to informing their sustained opposition to the EU’s goal of completing a comprehensive set of sub-regional economic agreements. We document African resistance to EU trade diplomacy in the EPAs, exploring how these otherwise weak countries were able to pursue normative-based negotiation strategies by recourse to the EU’s promise of a ‘development partnership.’