Economic and Commercial Law Researches

Interdependence and the Expansion of Cooperation Foundations in the International Legal Order: An Explanation from the Perspective of Challenges

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Fariborz Arghavani Pirsalami 1
nader Mardani 2
Alireza Abbasi 3

1 Associate Professor, Faculty of Law & Political Science, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran. Corresponding Author Email: farghavani@shirazu.ac.ir

2 Associate Professor, Faculty of Law & Political Science, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran.

3 L.L.M., Faculty of Law & Political Science, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran.

https://doi.org/10.48308/eclr.2025.239769.1165
Abstract
The establishment of interdependence as a principal foundation for cooperation within the contemporary international legal system, despite its considerable significance, encounters multifaceted challenges. The escalation of interdependence among states, caused by increased trade, migration, and technological advancements—a defining characteristic of the 1990s—has rendered the economies of numerous countries dependent upon the export and import of goods. The purpose of this study is to critically examine the capacities inherent in interdependence within the contemporary international system and to assess the challenges and impediments to the expansion of cooperative foundations within the international legal order. This research examines the specific challenges that confront interdependence in implementing the foundational principles of cooperation within the modern international legal order. Employing a descriptive-analytical methodology, the study synthesizes data collected from library and internet sources. The central hypothesis posits that disparities in governmental development levels, the misalignment of international economic institutions with the objectives of sustainable development, and the intensification of sanctions regimes constitute the most significant challenges to realizing interdependence and advancing the foundations of international cooperation. The findings demonstrate that, although the contemporary international system has embraced the notion of interdependence and endeavored to implement it in certain domains, persistent legal challenges and systemic weaknesses have hindered the facilitation of interdependence and the expansion of international cooperative foundations. Rather than furthering economic rationality, these obstacles have perpetuated the predominance of power dynamics.

Keywords

sanctions
development
international economic organizations
interdependence
international cooperation

  1.  

    References

    Books

    1. Bauer, R., Pool, I., and Dexter, L., American Business and Public Policy: The Politics of Foreign Trade, New York: Atherton Press, 1963.
    2. Copeland, Dale C., Economic Interdependence and War, Princeton University Press, 2015.
    3. Dalby, S., Creating the Second Cold War, London, 1990.
    4. Faundez, J., Tan, C., International Economic Law, Globalization and Developing Countries, Edward Elgar Publishing Limited, 2010.
    5. George, Boer, test case: Italy, Ethiopia of Nations, Hoover Press, 1976.
    6. Herdgen, Matthias, Principles of International Economic Law, translated by Sadeq Ziaei Bigdali et al., Tehran: Ganj Danesh Publications, 2011. (In Persian)
    7. Jones, Carol Brian, The Cold War, translated by Babak Mohaqeq, Tehran: Farhang Javid, 2019. (In Persian)
    8. Lindblom, Charles, The Intelligence of Democracy, New York Press, 1965.
    9. Morganta, Hans J., Politics Among Nations: The Struggle for Power and Peace, translated by Humaira Moshirzadeh, Tehran: Political and International Studies Office, 2018. (In Persian)
    10. Nye, Joseph, Keohen, Robert, From Interdependence to Global Governance, translated by Vahid Bozorgy, Tehran: Qomes, 2011. (In Persian).
    11. Smith, Roy, Farrands, Christopher, Alanis, Emad, International Political Economy in the Twenty-First Century, translated by Ruhollah Talebi Arani, Amir Mohammad Haji Yousefi, Tehran: Mokhatab, 2013. (In Persian)
    12. Wolkenhauer, Anna. International Organization and Food: Nearing the End of the Lean Season. Palgrave Macmillan, 2021.

    Articles

    1. Axelrod, Robert, “The Emergence of cooperation among egoists”, American Science, vol. 75, pp. 306-318. https://doi.org/10.2307/1961366
    2. Babic, M., “Realism and Multipolarity in the XXI Century. Challenges for the Balkans”, Studies in European Affairs, No. 3, 2024, pp. 9-25. https://doi.org/33067/SE.3.2024.1/
    3. Bodimeade, Chelsea, Deane, Felicity, “Evolving theory of IP rights: promoting human rights in the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights”, Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice, Vol. 18, 8, 2023, pp 603-614. https://doi.org/10.1093/jiplp/jpad056
    4. Eslami, Reza, Hassankhani, Ali, Kalantari, Hossein, "Human Rights Challenges of the TRIPS Agreement", Journal of Fundamental Rights, Volume 10, Issue 20, 2013, pp. 31-58. (In Persian)
    5. Gaiduchok O., Stupnytskyi O, “Economic interdependence: national and international economic security”, Internauka, Vol. 34, No.2, 2020, pp. 85-90. https://doi.org/10.25313/2520-2294-2020-2-5661/
    6. Gonzalez, Carmen G., ”International Economic Law and the Right to Food”, Seattle University School of Law,2013, pp. 1-25.
    7. Knorr, Stephen D., “Global communications and National power: life on the Pareto frontier” World Politics, No. 43 (April), 1991, pp. 336-366. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139680738.004
    8. Krasner, S., International Regimes, Cornell University Press, 1983.

    21. Lashkaripour, Ahmad, “The cost of a global tariff war: A sufficient statistics approach”, Journal of International Economics, 131, 2021, pp. 1-38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinteco.2020.103419/

    1. Vanzetti, David, Economic consequences of a US-initiated tariff war, 69th annual Conference of the Australasian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, 2025. pp.1-19.
    2. O. R., “The Politics of International Regime Formation, Managing Natural Resources and the Environment.” International Organization. Vol. 43. No. 3, 1989, pp. 349-375. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0020818300032963/

    Online Sources

    1. Babb, S., The Third World Demanded Global Redistribution in the 1970s, 2022, Visited 7/14/2025, at: https://catalyst-journal.com/2022/12/the-third-world-demanded-global-redistribution-in-the-1970s/
    2. Charter of the United Nations, Articles 41, 42, at: https://www.un.org/en/about-us/un-charter/
    3. Constitution of FAO, preamble, at: https://www.fao.org/4/x5584e/x5584e0i.htm/
    4. International Fund for Agricultural Development, Who We Are? Visited: 7/17/2025 at: https://www.ifad.org/en/our-vision/
    5. The Covenant of the League of Nations, Articles 10,12, at:

    https://www.ungeneva.org/en/about/league-of-nations/covenant/

    29. The Global Economy, Fragile State Index - Country rankings, Visited 7/17/2025, at: https://www.theglobaleconomy.com/rankings/fragile_state_index/

    1. The Group of 77 at the United Nations, General Information, (Visited 7/14/2025) at: https://www.g77.org/doc/
    2. The World Bank, Human Rights and Economics: Tensions and Positive Relationships, Visited 7/17/2025 at:

    https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/568971607704442026/pdf/Human-Rights-and-Economics-Tensions-and-Positive-Relationships.pdf/

    1. United Nations, Press Conference by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at United Nations Headquarters, Visited: 7/16/2025 at:

    https://press.un.org/en/2014/sgsm16150.doc.htm/

    Documents

    1. Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights.
    2.  

Peer Review Process

Guide for Authors

Submit Manuscript

Reviewers

Contact Us

Licensing Policy

Open Access Statement

Copyright Policy

Plagiarism policy

Self-archiving policies for authors