Gulliver's Troubles offers the first comprehensive assessment of the post-Cold War foreign policy of Nigeria one of Africa's most important states. Expert contributors, comprising academics and scholar-diplomats, analyze Nigeria's most vital domestic challenges and critical regional issues from historical and contemporary perspectives. Nigeria's relations with its neighbors, other significant states, and regional and international bodies also come under scrutiny. The debates here, while multifaceted, share the premise that an effective foreign policy must be built on a sound domestic base and democratic stability.

The Political Economy of International Commodity Cartels examines how international commodity cartels in the 1930s were impacted not only by commercial rivalry, but also by international trade political and diplomatic concerns. This work presents the rise and decline of the European Timber Exporters' Convention (ETEC) and analyses how firms navigated through the cartel game under increasing international competition, pressures from the national governments, and the interventionist endeavours of the League of Nations. Cartels are often associated with, in the standard economic interpretation, business collusion. However, in using vast archive sources and historical methodology, the chapters in this book shed light onto how international relations shaped cartels. The rise of British protectionism, the emergence of the Soviet Union as an industrial power, and the economic rapprochement of the League of Nations in the early 1930s created a wave of political and diplomatic challenges in the timber trading countries and affected cartelisation. Timber firms in the biggest producer countries-Finland and Sweden-were uninterested in international cartel collaboration, but under pressure joined the ETEC nevertheless. This book makes a strong contribution to the fields of business history and cartel studies. It is an essential read for economic historians interested in how political pressure shaped international cartels and how cartels became avenues of diplomacy.

There are so many roadblocks in Central Africa that it is hard to find a road that does not have one. Based on research in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the Central African Republic (CAR), Peer Schouten maps more than a thousand of these roadblocks to show how communities, rebels and state security forces forge resistance and power out of control over these narrow points of passage. Schouten reveals the connections between these roadblocks in Central Africa and global supply chains, tracking the flow of multinational corporations and UN agencies alike through them, to show how they encapsulate a form of power, which thrives under conditions of supply chain capitalism. In doing so, he develops a new lens through which to understand what drives state formation and conflict in the region, offering a radical alternative to explanations that foreground control over minerals, territory or population as key drivers of Central Africa's violent history.

The USA and China, the world's largest economic powers, have been engaging in trade war since January 2018. The impact of this trade war is felt not only by US and China but also by other economies who have economic ties with them. This book provides insights into damages caused by this trade war. The first section of the book looks at the impact of the trade war on the global economy. It goes deeper to examine the trade war impact on the South Asian region. It is well-known that any imposition of new tariffs or an increase in existing tariffs would make imports more costly and render the exported goods less competitive. Yet, the book posits that the trade war has provided a window of opportunity to other countries not caught in it. The South Asian region, with countries like Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka, has actually reaped benefits from the widening trade dispute between the world's two biggest economies. This book will be a useful reference to help policymakers to undertake informed decisions and initiate programs to minimise the trade war impact.

This book offers a stimulating introduction to the links between areas of global governance, human rights global economy and international law. By drawing on a range of diverse subject areas, it argues that the foundations of global governance, human rights and international law are undermined by a conflict or 'tragic flaw', where insistence on absolute conceptions of state sovereignty are pitted against universally accepted principles of justice and human rights resulting in destructive self-interest for both the state and the global community. Following the election of President Donald Trump , the second edition will explores how we are witnessing a critical battle to ensure that human rights, international law and the beneficial aspects of globalization will still be relevant and applied in some of the critical institutions of global governance and in the operations of the global private sector. The second edition will focus on how States, institutions and global civil society will have to ramp up the struggle to fight this 'tragic flaw' that is now even more evident with the actions of the US and other authoritarian states, like China and Russia in this second decade of the 21st Century.

This book provides an analysis of the global trading system and its implications. The author uses network theory to examine the sustainability of the free trade system and its future. The book attempts to find out what the future of free trade could be and how the global trading system would unfold. The book assesses four main waves of challenges to free trade and open society: the COVID-19 pandemic, the US-China trade war, economic nationalism, and the Fourth Industrial Revolution. While some of these challenges have been casting their shadows on the global economic system for some time, others are relatively novel, and their full effects are yet to be seen. This book also looks at the challenges they would present to multilateralism and global trade development. This book will interest those who wish to have a better understanding of the US-China trade war and the challenges to the global trading system.

This timely book addresses the interaction between policies addressing climate change and the rules of the WTO. The authors expertly examine the law and economics behind the application of trade rules in the area of climate, including the implications of WTO rules for domestic climate measures, the unilateral use of trade measures to attempt to force other countries to take climate action, and the role of trade measures in multilateral climate agreements. The book argues that while there is a possibility of conflict between international trade rules and progress on climate change, it need not be the case. Thus the major focus is on the ways in which trade measures can aid in addressing climate change.

This volume aims to illustrate the uniqueness of the economies of the countries and territories of the Caribbean as well as the similarities they share with other regions. While most countries in the region share many of the characteristics of middle-income countries, theirs is a matter of extremes. Their generally small size suggests a fragility not found elsewhere. While much of the world is beginning to feel some effects of climate change, the Caribbean is ground zero. These factors suggest a difficult road ahead, but the chapters presented in this volume aim to help to spur the search for creative solutions to the region's problems. The chapters, written by expert contributors, examine the Caribbean economies from several perspectives. Many break new ground in questioning past policy mindsets, while developing new approaches to many of the traditional constraints limiting growth in the region. The volume is organized in four sections. Part I examines commonalities, including issues surrounding small economies, tourism, climate change and energy security. Part II looks at obstacles to sustained progress, for example debt, natural disasters and crime. In Part III chapters consider the specific role of external influences, including the USA and the European Union, the People's Republic of China, as well as regional co-operation. The volume concludes in Part IV with country case studies intended to provide a sense of the diversity that runs through the region.

This book examines the causes and consequences of social standards in US and EU preferential trade agreements (PTAs). PTAs are the new reality of the global trading system. Pursued by both developed and developing countries, they increasingly incorporate labor and environmental issues to prevent a race to the bottom in social regulation and counter-protectionism. Using principal-agent theory to explore why US PTAs have stricter social standards than those signed by the EU, Postnikov argues that the level of institutional insulation of trade policy executives from interest groups and legislators determines the design of social standards. In the EU, where institutional insulation is high, social standards mirror the normative preferences of the European Commission leading to a softer approach. In the US, where such insulation is low, social standards are driven by interest groups and legislators they control, resulting in a stricter approach. This book shows that both approaches can be effective but work through different causal mechanisms. To test his argument, Postnikov draws on original data collected in Brussels, Washington, Santiago, Bogota, and Seoul. This book will be of interest to all scholars and students working in the fields of international political economy and EU and US trade policy.

The Blue Economy is emerging on the global scene as a powerful and persuasive new concept for sustainable development based on economic activities associated with the ocean. Several regions globally have adopted this concept at national and regional levels, including the Caribbean. Given the complex, multisectoral and multilevel nature of the Blue Economy, it is clear that different approaches will be needed for different regions. Hence, this volume explores the opportunities, threats and risks involved in operationalising the Blue Economy in the Wider Caribbean Region, defined as northern Brazil to the USA and all mainland and island countries and territories in-between. The first part of the book looks at where the region stands in the global picture regarding adoption of the Blue Economy and what is planned. The second set of chapters examines key crosscutting issues such as ecosystem services, climate change and governance at national and regional levels that could make or break the Blue Economy initiative. The book then goes on to explore the main sectoral activities that will constitute the Blue Economies in the region: fisheries, tourism, shipping and transport, renewable energy, oil and gas, seabed mining and waste management are all considered. The book ends with a synthesis of the political and technical requirements to overcome threats and take advantage of opportunities in the Blue Economy.

The steady progress of global economic integration and trade-policy liberalization facilitated by the GATT and WTO over the past half-century has been accompanied by persistent warnings of the consequences for wages, employment and working conditions. Indeed, over the last decade, labor interests in the west have sought to slow the pace of international trade negotiations, seeking some protections in the WTO Charter itself and in individual trade agreements. The central focus of this collection is to provide the reader access to the seminal papers analyzing the accommodation of labor interests within the WTO. This comprehensive volume establishes an understanding of the interaction between global goods, capital and labor markets and the national government institutions that regulate their function. In selecting papers for this volume, the editors have identified the most important contributions to the debate.

Presents fifteen historical case studies of international cartels that include agricultural and mineral commodities, the machinery industry, telephone equipment, whiskey and cement. Draws together researchers from different nations to examine the impact of international cartels on the experience of individual countries; those nations' interactions with one or more international cartels; and ultimately with the individual nation's interactions with the wider international community. Useful literature for researchers, academics and advanced students in the fields of business and economic history, political economy, and government policy and those interested in cartels and their impact on the wider economy.

i) Several heated topics on internet regulations are examined. ii) The WTO case law method is applied. iii) The author of this book is a professor from one of the top institutes in China. iv) General readers interested in China's cyber law and international public law are also welcome to read this book. v) The Chinese version of this title sold over 3500 copies.

This book provides a detailed analysis of major legal and public policy issues arising from the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) - a treaty that will dramatically change the landscape of international trade, with effects that will be felt on a global scale.Experts from a range of backgrounds around the world provide perspectives on the significance and likely impact of the agreement, and in particular its implications for national regulatory autonomy. The chapters cover cross-cutting issues such as development, health and the environment, as well as more specific areas such as agriculture and services, and controversial questions of intellectual property, investment and dispute settlement under the agreement. With an analytical focus on broad principles and enduring issues arising from the TPP, this informative book will appeal to academics, government advisors, NGOs, and students of law, economics, and international relations. Legal practitioners will also find much of interest in this book. Contributors: W.-M. Choi, D. Elms, D. Kotlowitz, M. Lewis, J. Meltzer, A. Mitchell, J. Munro, R. Polanco, M. Rimmer, L. Trakman, T. Voon, K. Weatherall

This book provides insights into the world trading order that is informed by power-in particular, the unidirectional norm imparting impact of US foreign trade law and practice on its trading partners and non-State actors. In this context, the recent tensions between the US and China have brought to the fore several fundamental and systemic questions. Underpinning these is the challenge of accommodating economic power under the rule of international economic law, including inculcating responsibility in its engagement. In the light of the recent US challenges to the world trading order, this timely publication will help us understand how the US will continue to shape the international economic order.

In recent decades, the international economy has witnessed profound changes. International Trade and the New Global Economy includes key papers on the leading research discussing the links between these changes and international trade. Written by an outstanding set of distinguished economists and political scientists, the seminal papers in this volume address the proliferation of preferential trade agreements, the effects of the Great Recession on trade, and mass attitudes about trade and globalization. With an original introduction by the editor, this volume is an excellent source of reference for social scientists and graduate students interested in international economic affairs.

An internationally acknowledged authority on all aspects of the theory of international trade and payments, this book collects Harry Johnson's contributions to the study of international trade, including a critique of the theory of effective protection. The book discusses: the integration of income distribution and other aspects of the economy into the positive theory of tariffs the issues raised by the use of tariffs to promote economic development the implications of distortions of various kinds in the working of competition for tariff theory and policy the costs of protection the implications of effective protection for world economic development and the economic effects of trade preferences the question of free trade and the extent to which it requires the harmonization other aspects of economic policy.

This book discusses the international right to water and the liberalization of water services. It is concerned with the harmonization of the right to water with the legal systems under which liberalization of water services has taken or may take place. It assesses paths of harmonization between international human rights law and international economic law in this specific field. The issue of the compatibility between the fulfilment of the right to water and the liberalization of water services has been at the heart of a passionate public debate between opponents and advocates of the privatization of the utility. The book provides an unbiased analysis of different international legal regimes under which the liberalization of water services has occurred or is likely to occur, notably international investment law, international trade law and European Union law, in order to assess whether the main features of the right to water can be guaranteed under each of these systems of law and whether there is space for prospective harmonization. The work will be an invaluable resource for academics, researchers and policy-makers working in the areas of International Human Rights Law, International Economic Law, International Water Law, International Trade Law and EU Law.

Low growth has become the economic default in the West. While China and other Asian Tigers continue to steam ahead, western commentators either argue that stagnation is inevitable, ignoring growth in order to focus on other factors such as inflation or inequality, or disclaim growth altogether. In Why the West is Failing, veteran businessman and economist John Mills strongly refutes these arguments. He maintains that the anaemic performance of western economies since the 1970s is due to the dominance of a policy framework that has fatally ignored the importance of industrial competitiveness. He shows that the key to driving up productivity - and thereby growth - is to promote a revival of manufacturing through investment and a competitive exchange rate policy. This would produce the extra resources needed to tackle climate change and reduce the risk of western politics continuing to spiral towards populist excess. It would also allow us to impede the baleful political consequences of Chinese economic domination.

An unprecedented trade war broke out between the world's two largest economies in 2018 and escalated subsequently. It is the first major economic conflict to occur in the era of globalization, with its aftermath going far beyond trade. The trade war weighs heavily on China and the United States and threatens the world economy and the global trading system. This book provides a timely account of the China-US trade war with insights into its causes and consequences. Examining through the lenses of both history and theory, it analyzes the context and causes of the trade war, the intertwined processes of tariff combat and trade negotiations, and the impacts on international trade, foreign direct investment, macroeconomic performance and firm behaviour. It also addresses the long-term strategic and geopolitical implications of the ongoing trade and economic confrontation. This book will appeal to those interested in international economics and politics, global governance and development.

In the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars Britain found itself faced with a stagnant economy. Economist David Ricardo believed that the full re-integration of Britain into the world market would allow for both capital accumulation and population growth, and used arguments that anticipate ideas entertained in modern contributions to the theory of economic growth and development. However, several of these arguments have not yet been translated into the language of modern classical economics. Ricardo's Theory of Growth and Accumulation seeks to overcome this striking lacuna. The latest entry in the Graz Schumpeter lecture series, this text explores and elaborates Ricardo's arguments and the models utilized by those who subsequently followed in support of his work. The Ricardian system is first examined through a one-sector economy, following Kaldor's model, and a two-sector economy, following Pasinetti's model. These building blocks are developed through the exploration of a small open economy, which allows an analysis of the impact of international trade in exceedingly simple circumstances. This discussion expands further by considering the world economy. More sophisticated variants of the two-sector model are presented, in which commodity prices are endogenously determined by the trading interplay amongst several countries. A final analysis makes Ricardo's case by introducing accumulation in the world economy. This book is of interest to students and scholars of Ricardo, classical economics, and - more broadly - growth theory, the theory of international economics, and globalization. The author was keen to render the analytical parts compelling to the historian and the historical parts compelling to the theorist.

This edited book introduces new research on informal markets and trade in Central Asia and the Caucasus. The research presented in this volume is based on recent field research in Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, as well as Beijing, Guangzhou, Yiwu and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China. The nine chapters in this book illustrate how informal markets and trade in Central Asia and the Caucasus have provided space for millions of people across the region to negotiate changes in state and society in the three decades since the breakup of the Soviet Union and the emergence of successor states. Collectively, the book suggests that informality should be seen as a normative order for polities in Central Asia and the Caucasus for three reasons: (1) The inability - or unwillingness - of the states to measure commercial transactions. (2) The highly personalized nature of small business operations that rest on networking and social relations, oral agreements and trust. (3) Markets and bazaars being embedded within states in which clientelism frequently thrives. This book is a significant new contribution to the study of trade and informal markets in Central Asia and the Caucasus, and will be a great resource for academics, researchers and advanced students of Sociology, History, Politics, Business, Economics, Social Anthropology and Geography. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of the journal, Central Asian Survey.

China has developed a piecemeal pattern of regulating foreign investment since the end of 1970s. The latest law is the Foreign Investment Law (FIL), which became effective on 1 January 2020. The groundbreaking new FIL is well acknowledged for its promises and affirmations pledged to investors, signalling China's eagerness to improve its investment environment and regain momentum for investment growth. This book provides an updated and holistic understanding of the key features of the regulatory regime on foreign investment in China with critical analysis of laws and their implementation. It also examines sensitive and complex legal issues relevant to foreign investment beyond the 2020 FIL and new developments on foreign-related dispute settlement. The book uses cases of success and failure to illustrate the nuances and differences between law and practice regarding foreign investment. Considering China's magnitude in the global economy and the weighty role of the regulatory system on foreign investment in China, this book is of great interest to a wide range of audience including academics in the field of investment law, legal practitioners, policymakers, and master's students in law and in management.

Winner of the 2021 Lionel Gelber Prize: A provocative look at how today's trade conflicts are caused by governments promoting the interests of elites at the expense of workers "The authors weave a complex tapestry of monetary, fiscal and social policies through history and offer opinions about what went right and what went wrong . . . Worth reading for their insights into the history of trade and finance."-George Melloan, Wall Street Journal "This is a very important book."-Martin Wolf, Financial Times Trade disputes are usually understood as conflicts between countries with competing national interests, but as Matthew C. Klein and Michael Pettis show, they are often the unexpected result of domestic political choices to serve the interests of the rich at the expense of workers and ordinary retirees. Klein and Pettis trace the origins of today's trade wars to decisions made by politicians and business leaders in China, Europe, and the United States over the past thirty years. Across the world, the rich have prospered while workers can no longer afford to buy what they produce, have lost their jobs, or have been forced into higher levels of debt. In this thought-provoking challenge to mainstream views, the authors provide a cohesive narrative that shows how the class wars of rising inequality are a threat to the global economy and international peace-and what we can do about it. Longlisted for the 2020 Financial Times & McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award and named a Best Business Book of 2020 by Strategy + Business

Written by two leading scholars with 60 years of collective experience in the area, this insightful and updated second edition provides a clear and concise introduction to the fundamental components of international trade law, presenting the basic structure and principles of this complex area of law, alongside elucidation of specific GATT and WTO legal rules and institutions. Key features include: a nuanced yet highly readable summary of the area placement of trade law into historical, political and economic contexts, including new analysis of populist critiques references to the most recent cases, decisions, treaty negotiation developments and economic and legal scholarship analysis of new areas including digital trade, migration and security exceptions to alert students to developments in international trade law links and connections between different areas of trade law to provide students with an integrated overview of the topic. Interdisciplinary in nature, this second edition will be an indispensable guide for students in law, economics, political science and international relations. Comprehensive and accessible, it will be essential reading for non-specialist scholars and policy advisors seeking to further their understanding of international trade law. 'This Advanced Introduction provides an excellent succinct yet accurate summary of the international trade rules applicable, inter alia, to trade in goods, services, intellectual property, and investment. It also explores international standards, social issues such as development, environment, labour, human rights, and it addresses the institutional framework and the future of the world trading system. As an experienced practitioner in this field, I highly recommend this book to government officials, business people, and students who will all get a clear interdisciplinary tour d'horizon in the field of international trade.' - Gabrielle Marceau, University of Geneva, Switzerland and Senior Counsellor at the WTO