Culture and International Economic Law

Culture represents inherited values, ideas, beliefs, and traditions, which characterize social groups and their behaviour. Culture is not a static concept but rather a dynamic force and as such has always benefitted from economic exchange. Nowadays globalization and international economic governance offer unprecedented opportunities for cultural exchange. In parallel, foreign direct investments can promote cultural diversity and provide the funds needed to locate, recover and preserve cultural heritage. Nonetheless, globalization and international economic governance can also jeopardize cultural diversity and determine the erosion of the cultural wealth of nations. The increase in global trade and foreign direct investment (FDI) has determined the creation of legally binding and highly effective regimes that demand states to promote and facilitate trade and FDI. An international economic culture has emerged that emphasizes productivity and economic development at the expense of the common wealth.

This book explores the 'clash of cultures' between international law and international cultural law exploring some key questions such as whether states can promote economic development without infringing their cultural wealth? The book is split into four parts, the first part explore the main themes and challenges while part two considers the cultural life of international economic law, part three focuses on intellectual property law and the fourth explores issues in European law.

The book contains original chapters by experts in the field including Yvonne Donders, Francesco Francioni, Federico Lenzerini and Ana Vrdoljak. It covers issues including whether grass root resistance developed to cope with the threats to culture posed by economic globalization, how international courts and tribunals are adjudicating culture-related cases, and the relationships between culture, human rights, and economic activities.