Investment Law in a VUCA World: the implications of high politics, state relations and national security for foreign direct investment

Presentation

The acronym VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity) aptly captures the dynamics of current world affairs. What treatment can foreign investors expect under international law, if global economic liberalisation is no longer a shared political goal? Can the effects of targeted sanctions be challenged under bilateral investment treaties? Where lie the fault lines of investment screening regimes and national security concerns about foreign actors in critical sectors? Is investment arbitration a suitable forum to address these tensions? And what reconfiguration of investment protection is needed – or already underway – to reflect the shifting political landscape of the international community?