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This book explores the interaction between the EU and international investment law, both at the internal level, namely within the EU internal market, and at the external level, i.e. in the context of its relations with third States. The joint treatment of these dimensions reveals that the EU has assumed an ostensibly ambivalent attitude towards international investment law. At the internal level, it has consistently asserted that intra-EU international investment agreements (IIAs) are not compatible with EU law and advocated their termination. At the external level, by contrast, it has eagerly deployed IIAs to develop its post-Lisbon international investment policy. The book finds that beneath this apparent ambivalence towards international investment law ultimately lies the EU's attempt to impose, both internally and externally, its own original model of regulation of cross-border investment. It then argues that the EU adopted this approach with a view to supporting its internal market, enhancing its external influence, and, ultimately, pursuing long-term 'federal aspirations'. Finally, the book identifies the legal and political obstacles that have curtailed the EU's efforts at both the internal and the external level.

This book examines the relationship between flexible regional economic integration in the East African Community (EAC), through its application of variable geometry, and the establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as a continent-wide form of integration. It uses a historical, political, legal and economic analysis of the processes that led to the adoption of flexible regional integration in Africa, with particular regard to the EAC. This takes place in the inescapable context of pan-Africanism, showing how regional integration efforts in Africa are based on pan-Africanist ideals, and how an evolution of these ideals has led to an evolution in the goals of integration. With growing awareness of the weaknesses and impracticality of consensus-based decision-making on a global level, it makes the case for the pursuit of flexibility in multilateral trade, drawing lessons from the experience of the AfCFTA and blocs in other regions. This book is a historical evaluation of regional economic integration efforts in Africa and it follows the path of attempts to integrate the economies on the continent from colonial times to the birth of the AfCFTA. While it is a study in law, it relies heavily on politics, economics and history to weave together a more complete theory of economic integration based on the African experience.Flexible Regional Economic Integration in Africa was awarded the 2020 SIEL-Hart Prize in International Economic Law.

This book examines how international trade agreements apply to domestic regulations on cross-border data flows and then proposes a multilayered framework to align international trade law with evolving norms and practices in global data governance.Digital trade and global data governance are at a unique crossroads, raising significant policy challenges. The book focuses on 5 policy areas at the interface of digital trade and global data governance: privacy, cybersecurity, data access, data divide, and competition. In 5 different chapters, the book analyses how different types of domestic laws in each of these policy areas implicate existing provisions in international trade law. Thereafter, each of these chapters explore the challenges and possibilities for aligning international trade law with evolving norms, standards, and best practices in that specific area of data regulation, both at the domestic and transnational level. Drawing upon these findings, the final chapter proposes a multilayered framework for aligning international trade law with evolving norms and practices in global data governance. The key message of the book is that international trade law can and should meaningfully contribute to the development of transnational data governance norms and practices. It can also foster opportunities for robust regulatory cooperation among various stakeholders of the digital economy.As the book offers a broad perspective on the significance of digital trade rules in a datafied world, it will benefit scholars, practitioners and policymakers working on digital trade and data regulation, helping its readers explore fresh avenues in the future development of digital trade rules.

"This book explores how State capitalism affects and reshapes international investment law. It sheds new light on the various ways States actively influence business and commercial activity globally by using sovereign investors such as state-owned enterprises and sovereign wealth funds or pension funds. With a diverse group of contributors from a broad range of countries, the book offers a fresh and timely look into the fundamentals of State capitalism, focusing in particular on its actors and processes, the contextual elements that surround it, and the new political economy that comes with it. The book is essential reading for researchers, regulators, policy makers, and practitioners interested in the different ways State capitalism challenges and changes international investment law. As geopolitical considerations increasingly affect global economic activity, delving into the intricacies of State capitalism has never been more timely"--