Cambridge Studies in International Relations: Series Number 90: Private Power and Global Authority: Transnational Merchant Law in the Global Political Economy

Transnational merchant law, which is mistakenly regarded in purely technical and apolitical terms, is a central mediator of domestic and global political/legal orders. By engaging with literature in international law, international relations and international political economy, this book develops the conceptual and theoretical foundations for analyzing the political significance of international economic law. In doing so, it illustrates the private nature of the interests that this evolving legal order has served over time. The book makes a sustained and comprehensive analysis of transnational merchant law and offers a radical critique of global capitalism.

1. Introduction; 2. Conceptualizing the role of law in the global political economy; 3. Theorizing the role of law in the global political economy; 4. Medieval Lex Mercatoria; 5. State-building: constituting the public sphere and disembedding the private sphere; 6. The modern law merchant and the Mercatocracy; Conclusion: transnational merchant law and global authority: a crisis of legitimacy; Bibliography.