ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the multilateralization hypothesis, whereby a number of legal scholars have wondered whether the growing web of international investment agreements (IIAs) comprises a multilateral answer to the apparent and potential incongruities of the current hybrid model of bilateral-global investment regulation. It argues that the legal literature on multilateralization lacks an appreciation of the role of political agency and collective intentionality in developing the multilateral system. The chapter reviews literature pertaining to the proliferation of international investment agreements. It briefs history of the use of stand-alone agreements for the protection and promotion of investment and then move to a discussion of convergence around a legal standard. The chapter examines this empirical study of legal convergence in the light of recent literature on the economics of international law. It suggests that the shifting sands of legal convergence look like an economy where actors' moves are coordinated by market forces and the norms of the marketplace.
