The Law of Globalization: An Introduction

There is a growing clamor ¯ particularly from the main beneficiaries of globalization ¯ that rules need to be established to govern the international economy, with a specific focus on questions such as copyright violations, trade sanctions, and protections for increased foreign investment.

While there is little doubt that globalization is a major contributor to changes in the definition, boundaries and nature of law, the question remains as to how much law and regulation from different sources is compatible with the assumptions of economic globalization. From a market perspective the point at which state law and regulation move from ‘legitimate’ non-economic interests into the ‘illegitimate’ restriction of trade and investment will materialize much sooner than it will from other perspectives. These theoretical questions arise in concrete form for the decisions of international economic institutions such as the WTO.

This thoughtful work focuses on the different forms of law which create the legal infrastructure of economic globalization and on how they interact with one another. It also explains how law is used both to maintain and oppose aspects of globalization. In addition it evaluates the governance of the global political economy in terms of the standards of the Rule of Law.