Historicizing International Trade Law

Abstract

What caused the 'neoliberal turn' in international trade law and how exactly this event manifested itself in the medium of international legal practices is not a question that lends itself to simple resolutions. What I wish to do in these pages, consequently, is offer a few general theses which should help put this inquiry into sharper perspective. I do this by taking as my starting point Andrew Lang's recent writings on the history of international trade law. My main focus in this context falls on the question of international legal-historical methodology. By exploring the various, often very nuanced discrepancies between Lang's formally declared theoretical project and his apparent theoretical practices, I aim to work out the common set of challenges confronting the broader enterprise of critical legal history in modern international law.

Keywords: international trade law, history of international law, legal historiography, critical legal history, neoliberalism and law, the neoliberal turn in international law