Conference Program

After several decades of economic integration, global economy appears on the verge of a reverse and costly process of geoeconomic fragmentation. Since the global financial crisis, cross-border flows of goods, services, and capital have slowed down. Simultaneously, global economy encountered major problems such as Brexit, U.S-China trade war, Covid-19 pandemic, and numerous military conflicts. As a result, the recent years have brought about an increase in trade protectionism, disruptions in global value chains, uncontrollable inflation or growing sovereign debt burdens. Those factors led to pessimist outlook with regards to the future of globalization and multilateral global economic governance. Yet on the other hand, processes described as re-globalization appear to promote further integration of global markets and expansion of global value chains. Therefore, the paper looks at the growing dysfunction of global trading system and the actions taken by selected international financial institutions in the last decade in order to determine how individual institutions cooperate with each other in the time of crisis, and to what extent – in spite its fragmentation – the current governance of global trade and finance constitute a regime complex where most actions of individual international organizations affect other elements of the system. In particular, the paper attempts to address the question whether an efficient multilateral global economic governance system is possible an to what extent current institutional settings in global trade and finance constitute a regime complex.

In a world of flux, are we facing a return of sovereignty? What is regulatory sovereignty? How does it differ from other conceptions of sovereignty? In what areas does it manifest, and why? From International Law, International Relations, and International Political Economy perspectives, this work argues that there is a transition towards regulatory sovereignty, taking as a starting point Stephen Krasner's (1999) ideas of sovereignty (interdependence, Westphalian, international legal, and domestic sovereignty). The defining characteristic of regulatory sovereignty is the defence of the policy space, which core is the right to regulate. It is more evident within investor-state dispute settlement, but it also extends beyond this area.

As policy space has been eroded by investor-state dispute settlement, States have proposed different strategies of resistance: Bolivia, Ecuador, and Venezuela’s withdrawal from ICSID, the proposal of treaties protecting the right to regulate such as India's 2016 model bilateral investment treaty, or the European Union's dual position (rejecting intra-community arbitrations and proposing a new investment court system as part of its foreign policy), among others. The research concludes with an analysis of the reasons behind the emergence of regulatory sovereignty, particularly the defence of the policy space in investor-state disputes challenging human rights and environmental protection measures.

References

Krasner, S. (2001). Sovereignty: Organized Hypocrisy. Princeton University Press

For many scholars the 2008 global financial crisis marked the beginning of the end of the multilateral governance system of global economy. Since the 2008 crisis the global economy has faced several challenges including the rise of AI, Covid-19 pandemic, U.S-China trade war, Brexit, the War in Ukraine and the increasing effect of climate change. While the Western created multilateral governance system of global economy has fragmented since 2008 non-western multilateral governance have increased with the most notable example being the BRICS. While the BRICS are a well research area the field tends to have very little structure to how the BRICS are researched. Some studies focus on the member states and some focus on the body itself, with further studies mixing both approaches with limited affected. The expansion of the BRICS in 2024 increased its importance in multilateral governance system of global economy. It is now vital that in terms of multilateral governance system of global economy the role of BRICS as an institution rather than a collection of member states is understood. Will this institution create a global but non-western led multilateral governance system of global economy or will it save the current western led system. Without understanding the BRICS as an institution, we cannot understand the if an efficient multilateral governance system of global economy still possible

In the ever-shifting landscape of global geopolitics, the rise of BRICS nations marks a pivotal turning point. This paper focuses on the emergent new global order, offering a comparative analysis that scrutinizes Europe's autonomy strategy through the lens of BRICS as its mirror. As the world witnesses the ascent of these influential nations, questions arise about Europe's ability to navigate contradictions and challenges in a growing multipolar world.

Through a comparative examination of historical precedents, current policies, and future challenges, this research seeks to shed light on the nuanced interplay between Europe and BRICS in the evolving global order. The implications of this study extend beyond theoretical considerations, offering practical insights for policymakers and analysts grappling with the complexities of a world in transition.