Embedded Neoliberalism and Its Discontents: The Uncertain Future of Trade and Investment Law

An era marked by an uneasy truce between developed countries and the developing world is coming to an end. This era, which reached its apogee in the 1990s, could be characterized as “embedded” neoliberalism, where developing countries signed on to an international economic law (IEL) system premised on neoliberal tenets but softened by de jure and de facto exceptions and derogations ostensibly to accommodate developmental needs and policies. Initially, developing countries resisted rules that imposed unwanted restrictions and that limited growth options. But it was the best they could secure at the time so they accepted much of the regime thus creating a temporary truce. With this truce between market-oriented globalization and state-based developmentalism unraveling, we look at how things might evolve and ask if there is another set of relations that would address changing conditions, manage conflicting interests and restore some stability.