Misuses of Comparative Law in International Development
Will be published approx. on 30. September 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
184 pages
978-1-009-50473-7 (ISBN)
Description
Misuses of Comparative Law in International Development examines how comparative law has been deployed by international organizations, governments, and NGOs to legitimize legal reforms that entrench inequality and reinforce power hierarchies. These reforms often align development agendas with neoliberal and authoritarian logics. The book exposes the flawed assumptions-such as convergence, efficiency, and legalism-that underpin transnational reform projects like the World Bank's indicators and the harmonization initiatives of the EU and OECD. It shows how these frameworks misrepresent local contexts and silence alternative legal traditions. Introducing a new typology of misuse-from cannibalization to epistemic impoverishment-it reveals how comparative law frequently operates as a tool of domination rather than emancipation. Bridging critique and utopia, the book re-characterizes these misuses as social constructions and reimagines comparative law as a vehicle for equitable, context-sensitive, and redistributive legal reform.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
Worked examples or Exercises
ISBN-13
978-1-009-50473-7 (9781009504737)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Fernanda G. Nicola
Misuses of Comparative Law in International Development
Book
approx. 09/2026
Cambridge University Press
€130.50
Not yet published
Person
Fernanda G. Nicola is Professor of Law at the American University Washington College of Law and Director of the Program on International Organizations Law and Development.
Content
Introduction: dismantling versus re-imagining legal frameworks in international development; 1. Comparative law assumptions: between global convergence and local resistances; 2. Neoliberal misrepresentations: from doing business to b-ready; 3. From markets to care: misrepresentation and impoverishment in the world bank's women business and the law rankings; 4. The non-use of authoritarian transfers of foreign agent laws; 5. Local resistances to counter democratic erosion: the case of Poland; 6. Reimagining comparative law: towards a critical international, transnational and local practice; 7. Conclusion: Misuses as social constructions; References.