Bohnenberger, Fabian; Joerges, Christian --- "A conflicts-law response to the precarious legitimacy of transnational tradegovernance" [2018] ELECD 990; in Hirsch, Moshe; Lang, Andrew (eds), "Research Handbook on the Sociology of International Law" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2018) 37

Book Title: Research Handbook on the Sociology of International Law

Editor(s): Hirsch, Moshe; Lang, Andrew

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN: 9781783474486

Section: Chapter 3

Section Title: A conflicts-law response to the precarious legitimacy of transnational tradegovernance

Author(s): Bohnenberger, Fabian; Joerges, Christian

Number of pages: 25

Abstract/Description:

This chapter discusses the fundamental tensions between economic globalization and democratic politics in the field of international trade. New bilateral and regional trade agreements increasingly incorporate other ‘trade-related’ policy areas and threaten to constrain state action and democratic politics. The move towards deeper and more comprehensive trade deals has greatly accentuated grievances and is of exemplary importance in the realms of transnational governance. The chapter examines the decoupling of these agreements from national and democratic control and the resulting legitimacy impasses of transnational governance, based upon the theoretical frameworks of Karl Polanyi and Dani Rodrik. Arguing that politics is not a mistake that gets in the way of markets, the authors submit their own conceptualization of transnational legitimacy. In doing so, they suggest a new type of conflicts law which does not seek to overcome socio-economic and political diversity by some substantive transnational regime, but responds to diversity with procedural safeguards, thus ensuring space for cooperative problem-solving and the search for fair compromises.