Books in the Cambridge Studies in Internati series

"Global security, climate and health challenges have called into question our capacity to cope with change. Criticizing mainstream norm, practice and realist theory, Jason Ralph offers a 'Pragmatic Constructivist' theory of learning, which is then used to assess international society's problem-solving capacities"--

"The interdependence promoted by the WTO Agreement has exposed a number of critical vulnerabilities, leading to accusations that the treaty is unjust. This book offers a theory of WTO law which explains why the justice of the WTO Agreement needs to be understood on its own terms"--

"Much of the existing accounts assume that investment treaties affect national governance. However, how exactly this happens has been subject to little analysis. Conventional accounts presume that these treaties improve national governance, leading to good governance and the rule of law for all. Critical accounts charge that investment treaties unduly empower foreign investors and cause a regulatory chill. On both accounts, investment treaties are expected to empower and constrain. Comparing extended case studies of Argentina, the Czech Republic, India and Mexico, this book shows how investment treaties influence national governance ideologically, institutionally, and socially"--

"The book offers a pre-history of international investment law focusing on the time before 1959 and the ratification of the first bilateral investment treaty and the ICSID Convention. It introduces new primary archival material, including arbitral awards, diplomatic notes, and concession agreements, as well as scholarly writings pertaining to developments in these proceedings. The book develops the important role of concession agreements and their internationalisation for the making of international investment law, highlighting their private law character. It also offers an account of the underestimated role of 'general principles of law recognized by civilized nations' for the theoretical and practical consolidation of the norms in international investment law. On a theoretical level the book works with an account of law as jurisdictional practice and draws out the relationship between the claim to universality of international legal norms and the economic dominance and dependence created through this claim"--

"Part essay, part novel, this book offers a unique take on the inner workings of international courts. It reveals how judges reach their decisions and what invisible actors (counsel, advisors, bureaucrats, academics) contribute to the process. The narrative combines the author's first-hand experience with rigorous research in legal sociology"--