Lauge Poulsen | July 2017
The political economy of the investment treaty regime
by Lauge Poulsen with Jonathan Bonnitcha and Michael Waibel
Investment treaties are some of the most controversial but least understood instruments of global economic governance. This book synthesises and advances the growing stock of literature on the investment treaty regime by integrating legal, economic, and political perspectives. On the basis of an analysis of the substantive and procedural rights conferred by investment treaty arbitration, the book asks four basic questions. What are the costs and benefits of investment treaties for investors, governments, and other stakeholders ? Why did developed and developing countries sign the treaties ? Why should private arbitrators be allowed to review public regulations passed by sovereign states ? And what is the relationship between the investment treaty regime and the broader regime complex for international investment. Through a concise, but comprehensive, analysis, the book fills out some of the many “blind spots” of academics from different disciplines by offering the first comprehensive analysis of the political economy of the investment treaty regime. In addition, the book is of use for lawyers, investors, policy-makers and stakeholders trying to make sense of these important, but little-understood, instruments governing economic globalization.
