ABSTRACT
Rationally behaving consumers wherever they may reside share a general common interest in being able to buy the best possible products and services at the lowest possible price and at the greatest possible convenience. For consumers to be able to realize this interest, the establishment and maintenance of markets in which businesses are able to compete for the attention of customers becomes essential. Given the commonality of such interests, on the surface it is a no-brainer for states to agree to a common global competition law or policy. For international enterprises, the major merit of having a global competition law would be the elimination of uncertainty on their part when engaging in cross-border merger and/or acquisition (M&A) or in selling or distributing products in a certain country or territory.
Given, however, that we do not have a global competition law owing to the factors of conflicting national interests as shown in the various examples of cartels, M&A, and extraterritorial application of competition laws mentioned in the preceding chapters, this concluding chapter will explore some of the possible strategies that global investors may adhere to when dealing with governments, strategies that take into consideration the views state leaders may have on the condition of international relations as defined by the International Relations (IR) theories of Realism, Liberalism, and Power Transition.
