Legal Aspects of the New International Economic Order

This essay surveys the different legal initiatives and strategies undertaken by Third World States in their efforts to create the NIEO. It argues that the inherently colonial character of international law prevented many Third World ambitions from being realized, and that these initiatives were unable to prevent the advance of neo-colonial power through private actors such as corporations. Further, it suggests that Western responses to the NIEO were important for the legal framework supporting the later emergence of neo-liberalism. Finally it reflects on the significance of the NIEO in the context of the emergence of the BRICS.