The invisible networks of global production: Re-imagining the global value chain in legal research

Anna Beckers*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Reviewing the burgeoning legal scholarship on global value chains to delineate the legal image of the global value chain and then comparing this legal image with images on global production in neighbouring social sciences research, in particular the Global Commodity Chain/Global Value Chain and the Global Production Network approach, this article reveals that legal research strongly aligns with the value chain image, but takes less account of the production-centric network image. The article then outlines a research agenda for legal research that departs from a network perspective on global production. To that end, it proposes that re-imagining the law in a world of global production networks requires a focus in legal research on the legal construction of global production and its infrastructure and a stronger contextualization of governance obligations and liability rules in the light of the issue-specific legal rules that apply to said infrastructure.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)95-117
Number of pages23
JournalEuropean review of contract law
Volume16
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 10 Apr 2020

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