The Politics of Private Transnational Governance by Contract

This book provides critical reflections on the interplay between politics and law in an increasingly transnationalized global political economy. It focuses specifically on the emergence and operation of new forms of governance that are developing through a variety of transnational contractual practices, institutions, and laws in multiple sectors and areas of economic activity. The book is interdisciplinary, including contributions from law, political science, sociology, and international politics. The focus on the political foundations of transnational contract is both original and path-breaking. It places power at the center of the analysis, revealing the heterogeneous landscape of contemporary law-making and the different kinds of politics giving rise to this form of global ordering. As many of the contributors note, this new form of governance requires a different type of political theory and legal theory. The book advances understanding of the analytical, theoretical and normative dimensions of private transnational governance by contract, making a valuable contribution to new theory in law and politics. It will be of great interest to students and academics in law, political science, international relations, international political economy and sociology, as well as international commercial arbitration lawyers, trade and investment lawyers, and firms.

A. Claire Cutler is Professor of International Law and International Relations in the Political Science Department at the University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.

Thomas Dietz is Professor of Law and Politics in the Institute of Political Science at the University of Munster, Germany.