The West and the Unraveling of the Economic World Order

Abstract

Abstract The disenchantment with the current international economic order is real, and it is not new; the problems lie deep. We need an inclusive and legitimate way to eliminate the inequities built within the global economic order. Resolving these structural issues will require unprecedented reforms that make international economic law more equitable and democratic and address its racist origins. For that reason, this chapter departs from the proposal in David Sloss’s introduction to this book to the extent it is predicated on preserving “a rules-based international order that is consistent with liberal, democratic values.” The chapter proposes instead a deeper engagement with the legacies of colonial dispossession and postcolonial exploitation of the Global South that lie at the heart of the current global economic order. That deeper engagement can provide a foundation for a more profound and progressive transformation of international economic law.