The Political Economy of the Investment Treaty Regime
With Jonathan Bonnitcha and Michael Waibel
 Oxford University Press, 2017. Spanish and Chinese translations forthcoming. 

Investment treaties are some of the most controversial but least understood instruments of global economic governance. This book synthesises and advances the growing stock of literature on the investment treaty regime by integrating legal, economic, and political perspectives. On the basis of an analysis of the substantive and procedural rights conferred by investment treaty arbitration, the book asks four basic questions. What are the costs and benefits of investment treaties for investors, governments, and other stakeholders? Why did developed and developing countries sign the treaties? Why should private arbitrators be allowed to review public regulations passed by sovereign states? And what is the relationship between the investment treaty regime and the broader regime complex for international investment. Through a concise, but comprehensive, analysis, the book fills out some of the many “blind spots” of academics from different disciplines by offering the first comprehensive analysis of the political economy of the investment treaty regime. In addition, the book is of use for lawyers, investors, policy-makers and stakeholders trying to make sense of these important, but little-understood, instruments governing economic globalization.

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​Endorsements:

Their book dispassionately synthesizes the available legal, economic, and political literature relevant to understanding the investment treaty regime's oft-proclaimed “legitimacy crisis.” It seeks to supply lawyers needing political context and political scientists needing legal knowledge with the unfiltered facts required to assess whether such a “crisis” exists and, if so, what the ways forward might be.
Professor Jose Alvarez, New York University

Amidst a sea of conflicting counsel comes a balanced yet hard punching analysis of the international investment treaty regime.  With incisive analysis from the perspectives of economics, law and political science, the authors deliver a singularly important work of clarity at a critical time for global economic order.  With as much a domestic perspective as an international one, the authors illuminate highly politicised questions with a fairness that is refreshing.  As nationalist tendencies rise in several corners of the globe, this volume is must read for policymakers.
Professor David D. Caron, member of The Iran-United States Claims Tribunal

This is the essential introduction to the field that we have been waiting for: a comprehensive account of the international investment regime that integrates law with economic theory and political analysis.  The authors have produced a seamless interdisciplinary study, laying out the state of knowledge on investment treaties in clear and accessible language, while pointing the way for future research. I expect that it will become a standard resource for students, scholars, and participants in the investment regime. Highly recommended!
Professor Tom Ginsburg, University of Chicago

This is a unique book on the political economy of investment treaties. It combines the rigor of academic research with the exploration of a highly salient public policy debate. By stepping back from the details of investment treaties and arbitrations, the authors construct a compelling argument on how the structure and implications of these collection of treaties and rulings create an “investment treaty regime”.  This is a must read for anyone interested in the study of foreign direct investment or how globalization shapes the policies of nation-states.
Professor Nathan M. Jensen, University of Texas at Austin

The intense debates on investment arbitration and investment treaty regimes often provide more heat than light. Both supporters and detractors refer to conflicting studies and “alternative facts” in ways that makes it hard for those not already committed to make up their minds. The authors of this work have taken a hard look at the political economy of foreign investment and have been able to produce the most expansive fact-based background study combining the relevant legal, political and economic aspects. Their point has not been to provide advocacy for this or that position but to assist experts and decision-makers to form their views by reference to a realistic assessment of the relevant arguments. This is the best study of the functioning and effects of investment regimes to date.
Professor Martti Koskenniemi, University of Helsinki

Political Economy is a brainy book – it is one for scholars and thinkers. It is a book for those who want to get a sense of what the big debates are and what the scholarly literature has to say about them. Moreover, it is of a different breed than all of the competition. ... One can safely predict that, as the regime will continue to attract similar questions both empirical and normative, the book will be a reference point for debates moving forward.
Professor David Schneiderman, University of Toronto

A balanced and accessible study of the Investment Treaty Regime that will advance the global debate over foreign investors' role in economic, political and legal development. It clarifies complex issues, introduces non-specialists to a key institution, and proposes an ambitious agenda for future research. 
Professor Susan Rose-Ackerman, Yale University

Reviews:

European Journal of International Law, 2019.

​American Journal of International Law, 2018.

Review of International Organisations, 2017