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Wronged by Empire: Post-Imperial Ideology and Foreign Policy in India and China
by Manjari Chatterjee MillerAlthough India and China have very different experiences of colonialism, they respond to that history in a similar way-by treating it as a collective trauma. As a result they have a strong sense of victimization that affects their foreign policy decisions even today. Wronged by Empire breaks new ground by blending this historical phenomenon, colonialism, with mixed methods-including archival research, newspaper data mining, and a new statistical method of content analysis-to explain the foreign policy choices of India and China: two countries that are continuously discussed but very rarely rigorously compared. By reference to their colonial past, Manjari Chatterjee Miller explains their puzzling behavior today. For example, she demonstrates why in important cases (such as India going nuclear in 1998 or China's fraught relationship with Japan) their foreign policy behavior is not consistent with the security explanations that are dominant in international relations. More broadly, she argues that the transformative historical experience of a large category of actors-ex-colonies, who have previously been neglected in the study of international relations-can be used as a method to categorize states in the international system. In the process Miller offers a more inclusive way to analyze states than do traditional theories of international relations, which usually focus on the material power of states, meaning inevitably that they mostly discuss the behavior of states that have power enough to matter-in effect Western states.
Wronging Rights?: Philosophical Challenges for Human Rights (Ethics, Human Rights and Global Political Thought)
by Aakash Singh Rathore Alex CistelecanThis book brings together two of the most powerful and relevant philosophical critiques of human rights: the post-colonialist and the post-Althusserian, its balanced internal structure not just throwing these two critiques together, but actually forcing them to enter into confrontation and dialogue. The book is organised in three parts: at each end, the post-colonialist and the post-Althusserian critiques are represented by some of their main thinkers (Ratna Kapur, G. C. Spivak, Upendra Baxi; Slavoj Žižek, Jacques Rancière), while in the middle, an American intermezzo (Richard Rorty, Wendy Brown) functions as a genuine Derridian supplement: always already contaminating the purity of the two theoretical schools, preventing their enclosure and, hence, fuelling and complicating further their mutual confrontation. As in any authentic dialogue, the introduction and the conclusion each claim victory for one of the sides by changing the very terms and rules of the dialogue, picturing it as a confrontation between emancipatory universalism and inefficient particularism (from the perspective of the post-Althusserians), or as a split between hypocrisy and truth (from the perspective of the post-colonialists).
The Wrongs of the Right: Language, Race, and the Republican Party in the Age of Obama
by Gregory S. Parks Matthew W. HugheyOn November 5, 2008, the nation awoke to a New York Times headline that read triumphantly: "OBAMA. Racial Barrier Falls in Heavy Turnout." But new events quickly muted the exuberant declarations of a postracial era in America: from claims that Obama was born in Kenya and that he is not a true American, to depictions of Obama as a "Lyin African" and conservative cartoons that showed the new president surrounded by racist stereotypes like watermelons and fried chicken. Despite the utopian proclamations that we are now live in a color-blind, postracial country, the grim reality is that implicit racial biases are more entrenched than ever. In Wrongs of the Right, Matthew W. Hughey and Gregory S. Parks set postracial claims into relief against a background of pre- and post-election racial animus directed at Obama, his administration, and African Americans. They provide an analysis of the political Right and their opposition to Obama from the vantage point of their rhetoric, a history of the evolution of the two-party system in relation to race, social scientific research on race and political ideology, and how racial fears, coded language, and implicit racism are drawn upon and manipulated by the political Right. Racial meanings are reservoirs rich in political currency, and the Right's replaying of the race card remains a potent resource for othering the first black president in a context rife with Nativism, xenophobia, white racial fatigue, and serious racial inequality. And as Hughey and Parks show, race trumps politics and policies when it comes to political conservatives' hostility toward Obama.
WTF?: A Times top 10 bestseller
by Robert PestonTHE TOP 10 BESTSELLER'Richly argued and brilliantly written... a deeply thoughtful analysis that should be mandatory reading for anyone seeking to understand where we have gone wrong.' Vernon Bogdanor, Financial TimesIn WTF? Robert Peston draws on his years of experience as a political, economics and business journalist to show us what has gone bad and gives us a manifesto to put at least some of it right. Framed by two letters to his father (who died in early 2016) WTF? is Robert Peston's highly personal account of what those who have ruled us for years got so badly wrong, and what we need to do to mend the terrible fractures in our society.With characteristic passion and clarity he looks at what must happen to prevent democracy being subverted by technocratic geniuses with the ability to manipulate social media, how and whether it is possible to make a success of leaving the EU, what the lessons should be of the appalling Grenfell Tower tragedy, whether robots can be stopped from taking our work, what can be done to staunch the widening gap between rich and poor, and how to raise living standards for all.WTF? is a trenchant, often entertaining account of the recent past. It is also a call to action, giving hope to all of us who believe that taking back control is not only vital, but possible.'A manual for our times that everyone should read.' Matthew d'Ancona
WTF?: A Times top 10 bestseller
by Robert PestonTHE TOP 10 BESTSELLER 'Richly argued and brilliantly written... a deeply thoughtful analysis that should be mandatory reading for anyone seeking to understand where we have gone wrong.' Vernon Bogdanor, Financial Times In WTF? Robert Peston draws on his years of experience as a political, economics and business journalist to show us what has gone bad and gives us a manifesto to put at least some of it right. Framed by two letters to his father (who died in early 2016) WTF? is Robert Peston's highly personal account of what those who have ruled us for years got so badly wrong, and what we need to do to mend the terrible fractures in our society. With characteristic passion and clarity he looks at what must happen to prevent democracy being subverted by technocratic geniuses with the ability to manipulate social media, how and whether it is possible to make a success of leaving the EU, what the lessons should be of the appalling Grenfell Tower tragedy, whether robots can be stopped from taking our work, what can be done to staunch the widening gap between rich and poor, and how to raise living standards for all. WTF? is a trenchant, often entertaining account of the recent past. It is also a call to action, giving hope to all of us who believe that taking back control is not only vital, but possible. 'A manual for our times that everyone should read.' Matthew d'Ancona
The WTO: Five Years of Reasons to Resist Corporate Globalization (Open Media Series)
by Ralph Nader Lori Wallach Michelle SforzaIn this groundbreaking pamphlet, directors of Ralph Nader's Public Citizen group examine the first five years of the World Trade Organization's track record, demonstrating how the WTO aims to create a new global economic system that increases corporate profit with little regard for social and ecological impacts, or democratically enacted law. Wallach and Sforza make clear recommendations for altering the undemocratic course that the WTO imposes on democratic society.
The WTO: Crisis and the Governance of Global Trade
by Rorden WilkinsonRorden Wilkinson explores the factors behind the collapse of World Trade Organisation (WTO) ministerials – as in Seattle in 1999 and Cancun in 2003 – and asks why such events have not significantly disrupted the development of the multilateral trading system. He argues that the political conflicts played out during such meetings, their occasional collapse and the reasons why such events have so far not proven detrimental to the development of the multilateral trading system can be explained by examining the way in which the institution was created and has developed through time. In addition, this new text: explores the development of the multilateral trading system from the creation of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in 1947 to the WTO’s Hong Kong ministerial in December 2005 examines the way in which the interaction of member states has been structured by the institution’s development assesses the impact of institutional practices and procedures on the heightening of political tensions and explains why WTO ministerials exhibit a propensity to collapse but why the breakdown of a meeting has so far not prevented the institution from moving forward This book will be of interest to scholars and students of international politics, economics and law
WTO Accessions and Trade Multilateralism
by Dadush, Uri and Osakwe, Chiedu Uri Dadush Chiedu OsakweWhat have WTO accessions contributed to the rules-based multilateral trading system? What demands have been made by original WTO members on acceding governments? How have the acceding governments fared? This volume of essays offers critical readings on how WTO accession negotiations have expanded the reach of the multilateral trading system not only geographically but also conceptually, clarifying disciplines and pointing the way to their further strengthening in future negotiations. Members who have acceded since the WTO was established now account for twenty per cent of total WTO membership. In the age of globalization there is an increased need for a universal system of trade rules. Accession negotiations have been used by governments as an instrument for domestic reforms, and one lesson from the accession process is that there are contexts which lead multilateral trade negotiations to successful outcomes even in the complex and multi-polar twenty-first century economic environment.
The WTO after Hong Kong: Progress in, and Prospects for, the Doha Development Agenda
by Rorden Wilkinson Donna LeeAfter the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) critical December 2005 Hong Kong ministerial meeting, negotiations to implement the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) broke down completely in the summer of 2006. This book offers a detailed and critical evaluation of how and why the negotiations arrived at this point and what the future holds for the WTO. It brings together leading scholars in the field of trade from across the social sciences who address the key issues at stake, the principal players in the negotiations, the role of fairness and legitimacy in the Doha Round, and the prospects for the DDA’s conclusion. The WTO after Hong Kong is the most comprehensive account of the current state of the World Trade Organization and will be of enormous interest to students of trade politics, international organizations, development and international political economy.
WTO Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures: A Commentary
by Wolfgang MüllerPanels and the WTO Appellate Body have rendered a large number of complex and lengthy rulings on the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures. The reasoning behind these rulings is often intimately linked to the underlying facts of a particular case and the methods of litigation adopted by the parties. Without guidance, it is difficult to find and research a specific subsidy issue quickly. This book provides an essential article-by-article commentary on the Agreement and sets out the law as it emerges from this body of rulings, providing the legal basis for further analysis of subsidy disciplines within the realms of economics and political science. It also includes a useful summary of the negotiating history and the links to other WTO Agreements such as GATT 1994. This important reference work will appeal to international trade lawyers, government officials, researchers, students of international trade law, business associations and NGOs. Provides an article-by-article commentary of the Agreement in simple language, encouraging a fuller understanding of the Agreement's provisions. Includes an overview of the relevant jurisprudence so that the reader can locate specific areas of interest. Considers relevant scholarly writing, enabling the reader to gain a broader perspective beyond the Agreement itself.
The WTO Agreements: The Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization and its Annexes
by World Trade OrganizationThis publication contains the text of the WTO's founding agreement, the 1994 Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization, and its Annexes, including all amendments and additions since its entry into force until September 2017. <P><P>These include an amendment to the WTO's intellectual property agreement (TRIPS Agreement) aimed at improving developing countries' access to medicines, the WTO's Trade Facilitation Agreement, which entered into force in February 2017, an amendment adopted in July 2017 to extend the frequency of peer review periods under the Trade Policy Review Mechanism as of 2019, and the amended Government Procurement Agreement. <P>This publication updates and replaces The Legal Texts: The Results of the Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations, which was first printed in 1994. <P>Includes the complete and official texts of the WTO agreements in one collection.<P> Provides an indispensable guide to all WTO trade-related negotiations.<P> Updates and replaces The Legal Texts: The Results of the Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations (1994).
The WTO, Agriculture and Sustainable Development
by Heinrich Wohlmeyer Theodor QuendlerDespite the Doha declaration of November 2001, the failure to start a new round of global trade negotiations at Seattle in December 1999 and the hostility of protesters to the trade liberalization process and growing global economic and social disparities was a wake-up call for the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The ambitious goal of this ground-breaking book is to identify the strengths and weaknesses of liberalized world trade, in particular in the agricultural sector, and to investigate to what extent the current WTO agreements provide the necessary fail-safe devices to react to trade-related negative impacts on sustainability, environmental protection and food security. The background and interrelationship between the WTO, the tenets of sustainable development and the unique features of the agriculture and forestry sectors are explored, and conclusions regarding the deficits of the world trade system and its conflicts with basic societal goals – such as sustainability – are drawn. Agriculture and forestry have a particular affinity with what the authors call "strong sustainability" and are to be among the major agenda items in forthcoming WTO negotiations. The book proposes that sustainable agricultural production techniques such as integrated and organic farming provide a series of related services to community and environment which could be severely prejudiced by wholesale trade liberalization and the imposition of the large-scale production methods of the mega-trade giants of the USA and Europe. And yet the concept of sustainability is referred to only tangentially in the existing WTO agenda. The WTO, Agriculture and Sustainable Development argues that, without a formal recognition of this failing, the premise that free trade is inherently advantageous for all countries is a falsehood. Further, unfettered liberalization is unsustainable and a social and environmental multilateral framework must be agreed to reinterpret or adapt a host of WTO regulations that are at odds with sustainable development. The core problem is that, under the current system, import duties can only be differentiated by direct goods and services and not by their means of production – sustainable or otherwise. Therefore, a range of environmental policy measures in the agricultural sector, such as the consideration of product life-cycles, the internalization of external costs and a coupling of trade liberalization with ecological obligations are proposed by the authors. In addition, they argue that unsustainable economic short-termism must be curbed and the use of the stick of trade sanctions and the carrot of financial benefits for good environmental performance be permitted to promote sustainable agricultural practices. This book will contribute greatly in addressing the lack of basic theoretical arguments at the intersection between trade and sustainable development – a failing that has already been bemoaned by trade policy-makers. It is highly recommended reading for all those involved or interested in the WTO negotiations, whether from multilateral organizations, governments, industry or civil society.
WTO Analytical Index
by Legal Affairs Division World Trade OrganizationThe WTO Analytical Index is a comprehensive guide to the interpretation and application of the WTO Agreements by the Appellate Body, dispute settlement panels and other WTO bodies. It contains extracts of key pronouncements and findings from tens of thousands of pages of WTO jurisprudence, including panel reports, Appellate Body reports, Article 21.3(c) awards and Article 22.6 decisions. This unique work will be of assistance to anyone working in the field of WTO law, including lawyers, economists, academics and students. It is produced by the Legal Affairs Division of the WTO Secretariat with contributions from other divisions of the Secretariat and the Appellate Body Secretariat. The third edition of the WTO Analytical Index covers developments in WTO law and practice over the period January 1995 to September 2011.
The WTO and Food Security
by Sachin Kumar SharmaThis book examines the public stockholding policies of selected developing countries from the perspective of WTO rules and assesses whether the provisions of the Agreement on Agriculture (AoA) could hamper these countries' efforts to address the challenges of food security. Further, it highlights the need to amend the provisions of the AoA to make WTO rules just and fair for the millions of people suffering from hunger and malnutrition in developing countries. This book highlights that 12 countries namely China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Kenya, Morocco, Pakistan, Tunisia, Turkey, Zambia and Zimbabwe are facing or will face problems in implementing the food security policies due to the provisions under AoA. These provisions need to be amended for permitting developing countries to address hunger and undernourishment. Progress in WTO negotiations on public stockholding for food security purposes are also discussed and analysed. The findings of this study greatly benefit trade negotiators, policymakers, civil society, farmers groups, researchers, students and academics interested in issues related to the WTO, agriculture and food security.
The WTO and International Investment Law Converging Systems (Cambridge International Trade and Economic Law)
by Jürgen KurtzInternational law has historically regulated foreign trade and foreign investment differently. Distinct evolutionary pathways have led to variances in treaty form, institutional culture, and dispute settlement. With their inevitable erosion through the late twentieth to early twenty-first centuries, those weak boundaries have become porous and indefensible. Powerful economic, legal and sociological factors are now pushing the two systems together. In this book, Jürgen Kurtz systematically explores the often complex and little-understood dynamics of this convergence phenomenon. Kurtz addresses the growing connections between international trade and investment law, proposing a theoretically grounded and doctrinally tractable framework to understand the deepening relationship between them. The book also offers reform ideas and possibilities, providing treaty negotiators and other government officials with a set of theoretical insights and doctrinal models that can guide actors in building a justifiable and sustainable level of commonality between the two legal systems. Proposes a new understanding of the relationship between international trade and investment law Offers theoretical justifications for levels of convergence between the two regimes and expands the potential readership base beyond law to other disciplinary areas Identifies vectors by which both legal regimes may achieve systemic maturation and will appeal to treaty negotiators and policy makers who are seeking to reform both systems
The WTO and the New Generation EU FTA Dispute Settlement Mechanisms: Interacting in a Fragmented and Changing International Trade Law Regime (European Yearbook of International Economic Law #19)
by Cornelia FurculițăThis book explores interactions between the new generation EU FTA and the WTO dispute settlement mechanisms, adopting an innovative, comprehensive approach. It investigates how the mechanisms potentially could and actually do compete, conflict, and cooperate, focusing not only on the potential negative consequences of fragmentation, but also on how synergies could be enhanced. Thus, unlike the existing literature, which chiefly focuses on conflicting interactions, it considers positive and negative interactions alike. Moreover, the book explores the topic in light of the most recent changes in and challenges to the international trade law regime. Particular attention is paid to how the multilateral and bilateral mechanisms studied interact with regard to the current WTO dispute settlement crisis and the EU-backed multi-party interim appeal arbitration arrangement. Thus, the book provides up-to-date answers to compelling questions. It also examines in detail the new generation EU FTA dispute settlement mechanisms, an aspect which has not been the subject of thorough research to date.The book pursues an interdisciplinary approach, combining legal methodology, international relations and political science theories with interviews. Given its scope, the book will appeal to researchers and scholars whose work involves international trade law issues. However, it will also be of interest to general international law academics, as it touches upon such issues as fragmentation, forum shopping, and general rules of interpretation. Furthermore, by analysing and presenting proposals with regard to the new generation EU FTAs, it will also be pertinent to the work of EU policymakers and researchers studying EU trade law.
The WTO and the University: Globalization, GATS, and American Higher Education (Studies in Higher Education)
by Roberta Malee BassettBy and large, the debate about the merits of including higher education services within free trade policies has occurred outside of the United States, even though the U.S. Office of the Trade Representative has specifically included higher education services in its March 2003 negotiating offer to the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). This book emerged from research and conversations on the potential implications of free trade on American higher education, implications which have yet to lead to any real conversation or debate within the broad higher education community in the United States. It fills a niche in the literature on trade and higher education services by providing context and analysis of the trade issue in the American higher education context, as well as the pros and cons of free trade in higher education services from the perspectives of the U.S.-based actors.
WTO Disciplines on Agricultural Support
by David Blandford David Orden Tim JoslingFarm support is contentious in international negotiations. This in-depth assessment of the legal compliance and economic evaluation issues raised by the WTO Agreement on Agriculture presents consistent support data and forward-looking projections for eight developed and developing countries (EU, US, Japan, Norway, Brazil, China, India, Philippines), using original estimates where official notifications are not available. Variations over time in notified support in some cases reflect real policy changes; others merely reflect shifts in how countries represent their measures. The stalled Doha negotiations presage significantly tighter constraints for developed countries that provide the highest support, but loopholes will persist. Developing countries face fewer constraints and their trade-distorting farm support can rise. Pressure points and key remaining issues if a Doha agreement is reached are evaluated. Vigilant monitoring for compliance of farm support with WTO commitments will be required to lessen its negative consequences whether or not the Doha Round is concluded.
WTO Disciplines on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures
by Dominic CoppensDoes the WTO leave appropriate policy space to its Members to pursue legitimate objectives, such as the economic development of developing countries, the conversion to a greener economy, or recovery in times of a global economic downturn? This legal and normative analysis of the WTO rules on subsidies and countervailing measures sheds light on why governments resort to subsidization and, by tracing the historical origins of the SCM Agreement and the Agreement on Agriculture, on why they have been willing to gradually confine their policy space. This sets the stage for a systematic and comprehensive legal analysis of both agreements, which integrates the vast amount of case law and proposals tabled in the Doha round. A separate case study explores the complex rules on export credit support, and the book closes with an in-depth normative assessment of these WTO rules on subsidies and countervailing measures.
WTO Dispute Settlement at Twenty
by Abhijit Das James J. NedumparaThis book focuses on India's participation in the WTO dispute settlement system, at a time when India has emerged as one of the most successful and prominent users of WTO dispute settlement among the developing countries. It offers a unique collection of perspectives from insiders - legal practitioners, policymakers, industry representatives and academics - on India's participation in the system since its creation in 1995. Presenting in-depth analyses of substantive issues, the book shares rare insights into the jurisprudential significance, political economy contexts and capacity-building challenges faced by India. It closely examines India's approach in effectively participating in the WTO's dispute settlement mechanism including the framing of litigation strategies, developing legal and stakeholder infrastructure, implementing dispute settlement decisions, and the impacts of the findings of the WTO panels / Appellate Body on domestic policymaking and India's long-term trade interests. In addition to discussing the key "classic" jurisprudential issues, the book also explores domestic regulatory and policy issues, complemented by selected case studies.
The WTO Dispute Settlement Mechanism: A Developing Country Perspective
by Alberto do Amaral Júnior Luciana Maria de Oliveira Sá Pires Cristiane Lucena CarneiroThis book offers a multidisciplinary approach to the Dispute Settlement Mechanism (DSM) by bringing together contributions from legal scholars and political scientists. Most of the authors belong to a tightly knit legal epistemic community, trained at the University of São Paulo and at the top-ranked research and policy centers on WTO law in Europe.Presenting a novel and unique perspective on the DSM, it provides an analysis of current themes at the heart of the WTO Dispute Settlement Mechanism through the lenses of scholars with a “developing country” perspective.Focusing on assessment, substance, and process, it presents a three-fold approach to the analysis and offers a singular contribution to the scholarly literature on the WTO. The book discusses the topic from the viewpoint of individuals deeply involved in the scholarly production as well as the daily operation of the mechanism. The contributors include academics in the fields of international economic law and political science, diplomats, individuals engaged in legal private practice, and individuals affiliated with the WTO as well as WTO-related think tanks. The result is a balanced perspective on pressing issues that have arisen and that are likely to remain at the center of the scholarly and policy debate for years to come.
WTO Domestic Regulation and Services Trade
by Aik Hoe Lim Bart De MeesterDomestic regulation of services sectors has a significant impact on services trade liberalization, which is why General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) disciplines are negotiated in the WTO. With the help of analyses and case-studies from academics, regulators and trade experts, this book explores the scope and limits of WTO legal principles to promote domestic regulatory reform. Case-studies discuss country-specific challenges and experiences of regulating important service sectors, such as finance, telecommunications, distribution, legal, education, health, postal and logistics services, as well as the role of regulatory impact assessments. The findings will interest trade officials, policy-makers, regulators, think tanks and businesses concerned with the implications of domestic regulation on access to services markets, and with the opportunities for formulating trade disciplines in this area. It is also a useful resource for academics and students researching regulatory approaches and practices in services sectors.
WTO/GATS and the Global Politics of Higher Education (Studies in Higher Education)
by Antoni VergerSince the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) was created in 1995, there has been international pressure towards the liberalization of education all over the world, as well as new challenges to the traditional internationalization rationale in the field of higher education. Nevertheless, education liberalization under the GATS is also a contested process. Public universities, teachers unions, development NGOs and other education stakeholders have opposed and campaigned against the GATS in different countries and at a range of levels from local to global. Based on intensive fieldwork in the WTO headquarters and on two case studies (Argentina and Chile), Antoni Verger opens the black-box of the GATS negotiations in the field of education. His well-documented work explores in-depth how domestic actors and interests are key to understanding the constitution of the global education liberalization process entailed by the GATS as well as the opposition to this process in certain places. This book is crucial reading to anyone with an interest in the future of higher education.
WTO Negotiations and Agricultural Trade Liberalization: The Effect of Developed Countries' Policies on Developing Countries
by E. Diaz-Bonilla S. Robinson S. E. FrandsenThe purpose of this book is to analyze the effects of developed countries' agricultural policies on developing countries. The main focus is on food security, poverty and other topics such as multifunctionality, biotechnology and regional agreements, as an input to policy reform within the World Trade Organization (WTO) trade negotiations. The book arises from a joint project between the Food and Resource Economics Institute in Denmark and the International Food Policy Research Institute in Washington.
The WTO Regime on Government Procurement: Challenge and Reform
by Sue Arrowsmith Robert D. AndersonOriginally an important but relatively obscure plurilateral instrument, the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA) is now becoming a pillar of the WTO system as a result of important developments since the Uruguay Round. This collection examines the issues and challenges that this raises for the GPA, as well as future prospects for addressing government procurement at a multilateral level. Coverage includes issues relating to pending accessions to the GPA, particularly those of developing countries with a large state sector such as China; the revised (provisionally agreed) GPA text of 2006, including provisions on electronic procurement and Special and Differential Treatment for Developing Countries; and procurement provisions in regional trade agreements and their significance for the multilateral system. Attention is also given to emerging issues, especially those concerning environmental, social and SME policy; competition law; and the implications of the recent economic crisis.