ABSTRACT
This chapter explores if the proliferation of regional trade agreements (RTAs) has increased the threat of fragmentation in the growing terrain of international economic law. It examines the issue of fragmentation as it relates to the legal process and a level playing field for governance. The chapter discusses the history of RTA proliferation before moving to a discussion of social scientific approaches to explaining the growth of RTAs in the past two decades. It suggests that there are five basic approaches that focus on the role of incentives, interests, ideas, national income levels, and national levels of institutional development in the explanation of regional trade agreement proliferation. The chapter also discusses several reasons for fragmentation, including legal specialization and uneven institutional development. It also examines the proliferation of dispute settlement systems, and also explores the implications of RTA proliferation for multilateral trade governance.
