Tan, Celine (2011) Navigating new landscapes : the contribution of socio-legal scholarship in mapping the plurality of international economic law and locating power in international economic relations. In: Socio-Legal Studies Association (SLSA) Conference, University of Sussex, Brighton, 12-14 April 2011 ISBN 9780415510165.

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Abstract

The evolution of international economic law in the past two decades has been characterised by the growth and diversification of international economic actors, the expansion in the substantive areas governed by international law, and, crucially, the proliferation of multiple sites of international economic governance. This web of multi-layered international economic governance is, in turn, underpinned by complex dynamics of power which structure the legal and economic relations between the subjects of international economic law and other actors impacted by international legal rules and regulation.

The challenge for international legal scholarship lay not only in mapping the multiple sites of international economic governance but also in unmasking the power dynamics inherent in international economic relations. Locating and analysing power relations underlying international economic law is to crucial to understanding the cause and effect of international economic rules and institutions for rulemaking.

Conventional legal scholarship with its doctrinal focus, while useful in providing the foundational basis for analysis, cannot adequately capture the complexity of contemporary international economic law. Socio-legal approaches may be able to overcome these epistemological limitations by supplying: a) the methodologies to study international economic law beyond a focus on rules and institutions; and b) the critical theoretical lens to understand the power dynamics inherent in international legal relations.

The objective of this paper is twofold: firstly, it will seek to identify the contributions of socio-legal approaches to the study of international economic law; and secondly, it will explore how socio-legal scholarship can provide a methodological and theoretical framework to construct an understanding of the pluralistic nature of international economic regulatory regimes and their underlying dynamics of power. In doing so, the paper will also consider the value of juxtaposing an empirical methodology for mapping legal regimes with a critical normative approach for analysing power relations in international economic law.

Item Type:	Conference Item (Paper)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HB Economic Theory K Law [Moys] > KC International Law
Divisions:	Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Law
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	International law, Economics -- Law and legislation , International trade -- Legal research, Globalization, Geopolitics
Publisher:	Routledge
Place of Publication:	Abingdon, Oxon
ISBN:	9780415510165
Book Title:	Socio-legal approaches to international economic law : text, context, subtext
Editor:	Perry-Kessaris, Amanda
Official Date:	2011
Dates:	Date Event 2011 Published
Status:	Peer Reviewed
Publication Status:	Published
Access rights to Published version:	Restricted or Subscription Access
Conference Paper Type:	Paper
Title of Event:	Socio-Legal Studies Association (SLSA) Conference
Type of Event:	Conference
Location of Event:	University of Sussex, Brighton
Date(s) of Event:	12-14 April 2011

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