Commercial Diplomacy and Political Risk
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6272500 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Geoffrey Gertz (Brookings Institution, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2018 |
| Volume | 62 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 94-107 |
| Publication date | 2018-03-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | International Studies Quarterly (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0020-8833 • E-ISSN: 1468-2478 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1093/isq/sqx079 |
| OpenAlex | W2790641990 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 24 |
| References cited | 67 |
The modern investor-state arbitration regime was explicitly designed to replace commercial diplomacy as a mechanism for protecting foreign investment. I argue, however, that diplomacy continues to play an important role in managing political risk, particularly in countries with weak rule of law. Yet, since commercial diplomacy occurs primarily behind closed doors, it is difficult to observe, let alone test for its effects. To overcome this obstacle, I exploit variation in vacancies among US ambassadors to foreign countries—conditions overwhelmingly driven by US domestic political factors—which provides for a quasi-natural experiment for testing the effects of commercial diplomacy. I show that American firms operating abroad are significantly more likely to initiate investor-state arbitration disputes during temporary vacancies in US ambassadorships. The effects of these vacancies prove particularly strong in countries with weak rule of law. The results suggest American investors frequently seek assistance from the US government in informally resolving incipient investment disputes; if diplomatic channels are unsuccessful or unavailable, investors then file formal arbitration cases. These findings underline that, even in highly legalized issue areas in world politics, such as investment protection, informal diplomacy continues to influence important political economy outcomes
Arbitration · Business · Diplomacy · Economics · Foreign direct investment · Government (linguistics · International economics · International trade · Law and economics · Obstacle · Political economy · Political risk · Political science · Politics · State (computer science · International Arbitration and Investment Law · International Development and Aid · Law · Political Influence and Corporate Strategies
State Capitalism as an Instrument of Diplomacy
Arbitrators as advisors
Bridging politics and projects
Leviathan as foreign investor
Are You Experienced? US Ambassadors and International Crises, 1946–2014
Asymmetric diffusion
Home market power and host market protection of foreign investment
Diplomatic documents data for international relations
Legalization, diplomacy, and development
Substitutes for rule of law? How BITs deepen but do not broaden U.S. investment in developing countries
Informational lobbying and commercial diplomacy
Trading with Frenemies
Diplomatic Gender Patterns and Symbolic Status Signaling
Delegating diplomacy
Varieties of public–private co-governance on cybersecurity within the digital trade
Who decides who gets in? Diplomats, bureaucrats, and visa issuance
The Financialization of International Law
Diplomacy and the Settlement of International Trade Disputes
Global Value Chains as a Constraint on Sovereignty
Conflict, Cooperation, and Delegated Diplomacy
International Investment Law and Foreign Direct Reinvestment
Personal Networks, State Financial Backing, and Foreign Direct Investment
Political Risk and International Investment Law
Do Investor–State Disputes (Still) Harm FDI
Promoting the Rule of Law Abroad
Opting Out of the European Union
Diplomatic Theory of International Relations
Controlling Institutions
Informal Governance in the European Union
The institutional environment for multinational investment
State Visits and International Trade
World Development Indicators
Estimating the Value of Political Connections
Politically Connected Firms
Informal governance in international organizations
International Handbook on Informal Governance
Diplomacy and the Making of World Politics
Standing Guard
The Shield of Nationality
Seize the state, seize the day
News and Analysis
Informal Institutions and Comparative Politics
Trading representation
Measuring the Rule of Law
Striped Pants versus Fat Cats
The Political Determinants of Ambassadorial Appointments
Domestic Institutions, Capacity Limitations, and Compliance Costs
States Sued
The old and new significance of political economy in diplomacy
Linkage Diplomacy
Does Issue Linkage Work? Evidence from European Alliance Negotiations, 1860 to 1945
Bargaining over BITs, Arbitrating Awards
Asymmetric Information, Mediation, and Conflict Management
Achieving Cooperation under Anarchy
Illusions About Consolidation
Issue Linkage and the Evolution of International Cooperation
Why States Act through Formal International Organizations
In the Nick of Time
The Diplomatic Core
Information, Bias, and Mediation Success
A Supply Side Theory of Mediation1
The Force of Face-to-Face Diplomacy
Introduction
Rationalist explanations for war
Contingent Credibility
The Rational Design of International Institutions
Gravitation or discrimination? Determinants of litigation in the World Trade Organisation
Informal Institutions and Democracy
Microfoundations of the Rule of Law
Which Side Are You On? Bias, Credibility, and Mediation
Agreement without Peace? International Mediation and Time Inconsistency Problems
What's the Risk? Bilateral Investment Treaties, Political Risk and Fixed Capital Accumulation
Informal Politics and the State
What Is Quality of Government? A Theory of Impartial Government Institutions
How Business is Done in the Developing World
Under One Roof
The Returns to Office in a "Rubber Stamp" Parliament
| Unique citing works | 24 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 3 |
| Citation span | 2018 - 2026 (9) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 24 |