Misuses of Comparative Law in International Development

This book critically examines how comparative law is misused by international organizations, governments, and NGOs to legitimize legal reforms that reinforce inequality, ignore local agency, and serve neoliberal or authoritarian agendas. It exposes the flawed assumptions, such as convergence and legalism, that underpin comparative legal practice.

Misuses of Comparative Law in International Development examines how comparative law has been deployed by international organizations, governments, and NGOs to legitimize legal reforms that entrench inequality and reinforce power hierarchies. These reforms often align development agendas with neoliberal and authoritarian logics. The book exposes the flawed assumptions—such as convergence, efficiency, and legalism-that underpin transnational reform projects like the World Bank's indicators and the harmonization initiatives of the EU and OECD. It shows how these frameworks misrepresent local contexts and silence alternative legal traditions. Introducing a new typology of misuse-from cannibalization to epistemic impoverishment—it reveals how comparative law frequently operates as a tool of domination rather than emancipation. Bridging critique and utopia, the book re-characterizes these misuses as social constructions and reimagines comparative law as a vehicle for equitable, context-sensitive, and redistributive legal reform.