- Library Home /
- Search Collections /
- Open Collections /
- Browse Collections /
- UBC Theses and Dissertations /
- The foundation of the global economy : the evolution...
Open Collections
UBC Theses and Dissertations
UBC Theses and Dissertations
The foundation of the global economy : the evolution of the international regime for private trade law from the eleventh through the twentieth centuries Cutler, Athena Claire
Abstract
This study analyzes the evolution of the regime governing private international trade law from its inception in the eleventh century through to its modern formulation in the twentieth century. It also seeks to explain its development by focusing on three theories of international relations. The regime is defined in terms of its substantive and procedural dimensions. The nature and strength of the norms governing the substantive dimension (prices, liability for defective goods, allocation of transport costs, insurance, and financial and credit arrangements) and the procedural dimension (locus of regulation, methodology of rule creation, and dispute settlement) are analyzed over three historical phases. These three periods are the medieval period, from the eleventh to the sixteenth centuries, the early modern period, from the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries, and the modern period in the twentieth century. The regime norms are found to exhibit significant continuity over time, although there has been considerable variation in the rules. The strength of the regime has also varied over the three phases. Three theoretical perspectives (structural realism, functionalism, and sociological analysis) are evaluated for their relative ability to explain the origin, evolution, nature, and strength of the regime. Each perspective is found to offer important insights, but a synthesis of approaches is necessary to capture the complexity and richness of the regime's evolution. Structural realism does not account for the origin of the regime and is of limited assistance in explaining the strength of voluntary standards. It does, however, explain the influence that states' concerns for political/legal autonomy have had on the regime and offers a reasonably good account of the roles that the United States and the United Kingdom have played in the evolution of the regime. Sociological analysis assists in accounting for the origin and nature of the regime, but it does not provide a comprehensive theory of cooperation. Reference to the other approaches is required as a supplement to sociological analysis. Functionalism provides the best explanation of the origin and nature of the regime. However, it is unable to account for variations in the strength of the regime over the three historical periods. Reference to the influence of changing structures of political authority and to the ideas, knowledge, and values of the major commercial actors is necessary as a supplement to functional analysis.
Item Metadata
Title |
The foundation of the global economy : the evolution of the international regime for private trade law from the eleventh through the twentieth centuries
|
Creator | |
Publisher |
University of British Columbia
|
Date Issued |
1992
|
Description |
This study analyzes the evolution of the regime
governing private international trade law from its inception
in the eleventh century through to its modern formulation in
the twentieth century. It also seeks to explain its
development by focusing on three theories of international
relations.
The regime is defined in terms of its substantive and
procedural dimensions. The nature and strength of the norms
governing the substantive dimension (prices, liability for
defective goods, allocation of transport costs, insurance,
and financial and credit arrangements) and the procedural
dimension (locus of regulation, methodology of rule
creation, and dispute settlement) are analyzed over three
historical phases. These three periods are the medieval
period, from the eleventh to the sixteenth centuries, the
early modern period, from the seventeenth to the nineteenth
centuries, and the modern period in the twentieth century.
The regime norms are found to exhibit significant continuity
over time, although there has been considerable variation in
the rules. The strength of the regime has also varied over
the three phases.
Three theoretical perspectives (structural realism,
functionalism, and sociological analysis) are evaluated for
their relative ability to explain the origin, evolution,
nature, and strength of the regime. Each perspective is
found to offer important insights, but a synthesis of
approaches is necessary to capture the complexity and
richness of the regime's evolution. Structural realism does
not account for the origin of the regime and is of limited
assistance in explaining the strength of voluntary
standards. It does, however, explain the influence that
states' concerns for political/legal autonomy have had on
the regime and offers a reasonably good account of the roles
that the United States and the United Kingdom have played in
the evolution of the regime. Sociological analysis assists
in accounting for the origin and nature of the regime, but
it does not provide a comprehensive theory of cooperation.
Reference to the other approaches is required as a
supplement to sociological analysis. Functionalism provides
the best explanation of the origin and nature of the regime.
However, it is unable to account for variations in the
strength of the regime over the three historical periods.
Reference to the influence of changing structures of
political authority and to the ideas, knowledge, and values
of the major commercial actors is necessary as a supplement
to functional analysis.
|
Extent |
19638256 bytes
|
Genre | |
Type | |
File Format |
application/pdf
|
Language |
eng
|
Date Available |
2008-12-12
|
Provider |
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
|
Rights |
For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.
|
DOI |
10.14288/1.0086501
|
URI | |
Degree | |
Program | |
Affiliation | |
Degree Grantor |
University of British Columbia
|
Graduation Date |
1992-11
|
Campus | |
Scholarly Level |
Graduate
|
Aggregated Source Repository |
DSpace
|
Item Media
Item Citations and Data
Rights
For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.