Global law in pieces fragmentation, regimes and pluralism

The idea that life undergoes a process of functional differentiation, and that, as a consequence, law becomes increasingly specialized – and maybe even transforms in its very nature – is now widespread. The specialized clusters of law or regulation are very often called regimes, in the international arena, international or transnational regimes. This paper deals, first, with three strong representations of international regimes and discusses some of their problems. It argues that, in order to make a good use of the category, it is necessary to keep in mind the differentiation between law and non-law in the wider context of governance. It then turns, firstly, to the notion of regimes as fragments of a unified and coherent public international law order and, secondly, as meeting points of regulations emerging from different legal orders as well as from other non-legal sources. Within public international law, regimes are seen as related to what is called the double fragmentation of that legal order. As clusters of regulation within a wider global regulatory order, regimes are put in relation to two types of legal or regulatory pluralism.

Trust-based trade

There is substantially more trade within national borders than across borders. An important explanation for this fact is the weak enforcement of international contracts. We develop a model in which agents build reputations to overcome this institutional failure. The model describes the interplay between institutional quality, reputations and the dynamics of international trade. It also rationalizes several empirical regularities. We find that history matters for trade volumes, but that its effects vary with the institutional setting of the country. The same is true for the efticacy of trade liberalization programs. Moreover, while stricter enforcement of contracts enhances trade in the short run, it makes it harder for individual traders to develop good reputations. We show that this indirect negative effect may produce an "institutional trap": for sufliciently low initial levels of contract enforcement, a small tightening in enforcement reduces future trade fiows. We find also that search frictions aggravate the problems created by weak enforceability of contracts, even if they impose no direct cost on agents. The model allows extensions in several directions. We outline two of them, indicating how one could study transnational networks and the effects of firm heterogeneity within our structure.

Business diplomacy: the compass rose of foreign markets

With transnational corporations (TNCs) around the world today numbering over 60,000 and more than 800,000 affiliates working abroad, it is easy to understand how modern day international business could have transformed into a major global player serving at the axis of politics, social and environmental responsibility. Additionally, with accountability to a large variety of both public and private stakeholders, all exerting significant power and influence, today’s global corporate structure is reinventing modern international relations, and in some cases, dominating it. (Muldoon 2005) This transformative nature of globalization today can also serve as a source of friction among this growing chorus of players and is bringing irreversible change to these relationships and how they impact and influence business around the world. (Muldoon 2005) From the largest to the smallest international corporation seeking to expand into new international markets, the challenges that come with corporate ambition can mean the difference between success and failure and they find a home at the intersection of international relations, diplomacy and economics. To successfully navigate these challenges, especially in emerging economies, a company must now factor in more than just the “bottom line” and address complex issues that include human rights differences, environmental regulations, labor rights and values of each country. (Henisz, 2014) Combined with modern-day mobility achieved through technology and the Internet, corporations today have a great capacity to reach targeted audiences and establish a presence, but it is this same technology that also allows for immediate response to any corporate action. This constant, 24-hour news cycle, where everyone is made to be a real-time reporter through social media, has created a situation that demonstrably necessitates the ability to not only 3 respond immediately, but also to have real-time understanding of the challenges faced by a corporation as it looks toward global expansion. International Business Diplomacy, or simply Business Diplomacy as it will be referred to in this paper, combines all of these nuanced factors into a relatively new discipline that offers companies looking to expand into new markets, guidelines and directives so that they can more strategically map corporate direction, limit risk and achieve their objectives. This paper will examine the history of diplomacy and how the concept of statecraft became intertwined with the increasing globalization of business. Following a scholarly examination of how modern Business Diplomacy came into being, and the unique challenges that come with its application, particularly the liabilities needed to be overcome, this paper will apply the concept to the Brazilian aerospace manufacturer Embraer, tracking its strategic emergence from a small, regionally focused aircraft producer to global leader in the regional and executive jet market platforms. It will then examine Embraer’s entrance into the Chinese market, where the company suffered from several missteps and eventually had to refocus its business model from commercial to executive jets. Finally, as globalization continues to “emancipate international business from its institutional and social constraints,” (Muldoon 2005) this paper will address how the relatively new and emerging discipline of Business Diplomacy is continuing to mature and grow in stature and influence through the proposition of a new challenge or “liability” that corporations must also overcome as they expand into new markets. Through the analysis of Embraer in China, this paper will introduce the Liability of Governance to the lexicon of Business Diplomacy and propose specific steps that a company can undertake to avoid it.

Breve reflexão sobre a insolvência transnacional. Divergências doutrinárias. Experiência brasileira.

Esta monografia aborda o problema resultante da ausência de regulamentação da insolvência transnacional no Brasil. O processo de globalização viabilizou a intensificação das relações comerciais internacionais, culminando com o surgimento dos grandes grupos econômicos, com sociedades atuantes em diversos países. Assim, como outras grandes economias mundiais, o Brasil hoje faz parte desta realidade. Atualmente, inexiste legislação brasileira específica para tratar da insolvência transnacional, o que gera muitas incertezas e insegurança jurídica. Com isso, o enfoque do estudo passa a ser a necessidade de criação de legislação específica para regular a insolvência internacional. Neste sentido, são apresentadas as diferentes abordagens existentes, através dos modelos teóricos desenvolvidos no meio acadêmico, para lidar com falências transnacionais. O trabalho, então, se concentra de forma mais analítica nas duas maiores correntes teóricas sobre o assunto: os modelos territorialista e universalista. Logo após, são descritas algumas experiências do direito comparado seguidas de um retrospecto sobre a história legislativa brasileira, sobre o tema de interesse. Por fim, um caso é trazido à colação como forma de elucidar o conteúdo dissertado e auxiliar na busca por respostas que indiquem a melhor forma de enfrentar a polêmica questão das falências transnacionais.

Processos jurídicos transnacionais estatais: o fair trade e a construção do sistema de comércio justo e solidário no Brasil

Este trabalho busca responder à seguinte pergunta: qual a influência que a prática e os princípios transnacionais do Fair Trade tiveram na criação do Sistema Nacional de Comércio Justo e Solidário no Brasil (SCJS)? A fim de respondê-la, foram utilizados dois tipos de fontes: documental (normas jurídicas, documentos institucionais, relatórios, atas, informativos, formulários e outros registros disponibilizados na internet pelas organizações aqui pesquisadas) e entrevistas com os dois atores chave do processo de construção do SCJS - Fabíola Zerbini, Secretária Executiva do Faces à época de sua criação (grupo central no processo de construção do SCJS), e Antonio Haroldo Pinheiro Mendonça, o coordenador do Grupo de Trabalho para o SCJS e hoje responsável por coordenar os trabalhos referentes ao SCJS junto ao Ministério do Trabalho e Emprego. Este trabalho se insere na literatura sobre atores regulatórios privados e sua atuação no âmbito transnacional, e se utiliza da ferramenta analítica proposta por Gregory Shaffer para estudar o impacto dos processos transnacionais nas mudanças estatais. Foi possível observar que os intermediários dos processos transnacionais, inseridos em suas próprias pautas e movimentos nacionais, tiveram papel central na construção de uma prática de comercialização justa distinta da praticada no âmbito transnacional, junto com outros elementos como a existência de um ambiente político e institucional favorável para a temática de uma comercialização justa e as demandas locais já existentes. Notou-se, ainda, a presença constante do Estado, que participou de todas as etapas do processo e pretende colocar-se como uma referência na construção de políticas públicas de fomento à comercialização justa e solidária junto a atores, privados ou públicos, que atuem em outros países. Concluiu-se que os processos transnacionais que geram transformações estatais não são lineares e seus resultados não podem ser previsíveis, sobretudo porque são caracterizados pela a recursividade - dinâmica em que os atores envolvidos nos processos transnacionais buscam influenciar a regulação e prática das normas jurídicas nacionais, ao mesmo tempo em que o nível local fornece resistências e adaptações que, por sua vez, podem influenciar o processo regulatório transnacional, fornecendo um modelo posterior a ser exportado por processos transnacionais. O estudo sobre a produção de normas sob influência de processos transnacionais contribui para a construção do conhecimento no campo da literatura sobre a regulação privada transnacional (RPT) e a legislação nacional, bem como sobre Direito e Desenvolvimento, ao organizar informações a respeito da construção do SCJS e de seus arranjos jurídicos vis-à-vis a prática regulatória transnacional do Fair Trade, bem como ao olhar para as dinâmicas referentes à atuação dos atores, públicos e privados, e de seus contextos na formulação da regulação pública.

Políticas públicas e vínculos de negócios entre grandes e pequenas empresas

Pesquisa em foco: Fostering linkages between transnational corporations and small to medium-sized enterprises in Brazil - 2011. Pesquisadores: Delane Botelho e Milber Fernandes Morais Bourguignon

Sistemas de regulação do comércio internacional em confronto: o marco dos estados e o marco das transnacionais

This article revisits a past article by the authors in which they propose a new methodology for analyzing trade issues, cross-cutting through the three ―layers‖ of international trade regulation: so-called multisystem of trade regulation. In this text the authors include another approach to international trade regulation studies, proposing a better understanding of the influence of transnational enterprises in the shaping of modern internal trade. In this sense, the transnationals are not only influencing international trade regulation through lobbying in traditional fora (especially in plurilateral and preferential trade agreements), but they are also becoming sources of their own private regulations, particularly regarding private standards. In this sense, the study of international trade regulation must take into account the activities and interests of these indispensible actors, critically analyzing the differences between the regulatory logic of states against the one keen to transnationals

Windows of opportunities and knowledge networks: implications for the catch-up in developing countries

This document represents a doctoral thesis held under the Brazilian School of Public and Business Administration of Getulio Vargas Foundation (EBAPE/FGV), developed through the elaboration of three articles. The research that resulted in the articles is within the scope of the project entitled “Windows of opportunities and knowledge networks: implications for catch-up in developing countries”, funded by Support Programme for Research and Academic Production of Faculty (ProPesquisa) of Brazilian School of Public and Business Administration (EBAPE) of Getulio Vargas Foundation.