Includes bibliographical references (p. 263-293) and index
Electronic reproduction; Available via World Wide Web
Cover; Half-title; Title; Copyright; Dedication; Contents; Acknowledgments; Acronyms and abbreviations; 1 Introduction; 2 Conceptualizing the role of law in the global political economy; Juridification, pluralization, and privatization; Private and public international trade law; Four liberal myths; 3 Theorizing the role of law in the global political economy; Problematic nature of locating "authority"; Theoretical approaches to international relations and law; Conventional theoretical approaches; Unconventional theoretical approaches; Social forces, law, and world order
Historical development of the law merchant4 Medieval lex mercatoria; Medieval jus commune and jus gentium; Law-creation and enforcement under the medieval law merchant; 5 State-building: constituting the public sphere and disembedding the private sphere; Nationalizing and localizing the law merchant; Law-creation, enforcement, and nation-states; 6 The modern law merchant and the mercatocracy; The unification movement and world order; Law-creation: unification through public and private authorities; History of the unification movement; Dispute settlement: the privileging of the private
Unification and global authority7 Conclusion: Transnational merchant law and global authority: a crisis of legitimacy; The "problem of the subject"; The disjunction between theory and practice: international law as dialectic; Recasting the story: imagining international law as praxis; References; Cases cited; International treaties and United Nations documents; Index
