International Finance and the Return of Geopolitics

Abstract

The rise of great power competition is transforming international economic law as trade and investment patterns fragment along geopolitical lines and longstanding legal regimes come under stress. This Article argues that this “return of geopolitics” generates fundamental and pervasive challenges for the international financial governance regime. As states weaponize financial infrastructure, adopt security-based restrictions on capital flows, and attempt to direct funds away from their adversaries toward allies and strategic industries, their actions strain the regime's foundational norms, principles, and procedures. The trend threatens to undermine cooperation to protect global financial stability and address other common policy concerns raised by financial globalization.