Tales of Economic Warfare: The Plunder of Venezuela

In most treatises, InternationalEconomic Law (IEL) is presented as a neutral set of doctrines, principles, and rules. Actors may compete against one another and vie for economic success, but the rules are indifferent towards the outcome. It is this notion of an apoliticalIEL that we challenge throughout this article. Using a case study of Venezuela, we illustrate how the rules of the international economic order are leveraged by the UK, the EU, and the United States to engineer preferred political outcomes. We examine three interconnected assaults perpetrated against Venezuela by the English Courts, the United States, and the IMF, each of which was supported by an alliance of Euro- American states. Ultimately, we argue that the rule of law is a vehicle in obfuscating the politics of IEL as well as the nefarious outcomes these produce for states that practice policies anathema to the dominant economic order.