W(h)ither fragmentation? On the literature and sociology of international investment law

Abstract

Few international legal fields have seen an increase in literature over the past decade as steep as international investment law. This reflects the growing interest in practice and academia in what is probably not only the most dynamic area of international law but also one with significant impact on domestic law and policy-making. What is striking, apart from the sheer enormity of writing, however, is the changes the discourse on international investment law has undergone. Focus, topics, conceptual and methodological approaches, authorship, and audiences of the present literature differ significantly from that of the turn of the millennium. This reflects both an evolution in the law itself and changes in the professional, political, and institutional practices and communities involved. The literature on international investment law thus is a reflection of the sociological dimension of a discipline that until recently was the province of a small group of specialists and now is rapidly moving mainstream. © EJIL 2011; all rights reserved.