Introductory description

This module is designed to offer a critical overview of what can be described as the legal and regulatory foundations of the contemporary global economy. The module will introduce and examine aspects of international economic law within its longer imperial history and its contemporary evolving context of economic, political, social and cultural globalization. It will provide an overview of the legal and other regulatory foundations of the global economy and critically consider the operations of the main global institutions and frameworks governing international economic relations. The course will also consider the role of international economic actors, both state and non-state, in shaping and influencing these regulatory frameworks.

The module will situate international economic law within a broader understanding of its interactions with other international and national, legal and non-legal processes and examine its role in the constitution of the contemporary global economy. Emphasis is placed upon the manner in which international economic law constructs international economic relations, inasmuch as it regulates the behaviour of international economic actors and global economic activity, as well as some of its major contradictions.

This module aims to provide the foundation and context for the substantive topics covered in other options in the programme. It will locate international economic law within the economic and geo-political environment in which it operates, including the pivotal role of the state, and provide the critical framework for further exploration of these areas in other modules.

Module web page

Module aims

Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.

• International Economic Law as a Field of Study
• Globalization, Imperial Legacies and International Economic Law
• International Organisations and Institutions for Global Economic Governance
• Soft Law and Non-Legal Frameworks
• Shifting Boundaries of International Economic Law
• Governance of International Finance
• The Framework of International Trade and Investment
• Regulation of Multinational Corporations
• International Economic Law and Emergent Crises

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

• Adopt a comparative perspective on international economic law and an understanding of its inter-disciplinarity, ie to situate legal norms and processes within their social, political and economic contexts
• Apply knowledge of the law to practical situations, both theoretically and empirically.
• Identify the key institutions and processes of international economic law
• Engage in critical debate and analysis of the functions of international economic law, its historical legacy and contemporary operations, its future and the its interplay with other aspects of public international law.
• Evaluate the law and the law-making processes as they relate to the subject-matter covered.

Indicative reading list

View reading list on Talis Aspire

Subject specific skills

No subject specific skills defined for this module.

Transferable skills

No transferable skills defined for this module.