International Economic Law and Quantum Theory (Routledge Research in International Economic Law)

This book provides an innovative and interdisciplinary experiment in applying quantum thinking to the economic-security ambivalences of international economic law.

Responding to the shifting economic-security dynamics of today’s emerging geoeconomic order, this book develops the analytical framework of ‘quantizing geoeconomics’. Quantum measurement and holism theories are extrapolated through analogy, ontology, and post-critique approaches. It demonstrates how quantum thinking illuminates macro-level economic-security dynamics, cybersecurity governance, and energy security jurisprudence. The book advances a pluralistic governance model anchored in national autonomy and regulatory coordination. It further reveals the theoretical, practical, and normative relevance of quantum thinking in contemporary global governance. This book presents a meaningful experiment in ‘quantum international law’.

The book will be of interest to researchers in the fields of economics, international economic law, international law, and global governance. By emphasizing inclusivity, resilience, and pluralism, it also provides policymakers and practitioners with novel perspectives for integrative strategies to navigate and reconcile the complex paradoxes shaping international economic law.

Xinyue Li holds a PhD in Law from Durham University (UK), an LLM from the University of New South Wales (Australia), an MJur from the East China University of Political Science and Law (China), and an LLB from Soochow University (China). She is currently an Associate Researcher at the School of International Law and a founding member of the Institution for International Law and Policy of Global Commons Governance at the East China University of Political Science and Law. She is a Visiting Researcher at the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law at the University of Cambridge in 2022 and 2025. She has been selected for the Chinese National Overseas Talent Programme and the Shanghai Magnolia Talent Plan Pujiang Project. Her research interests include interdisciplinary approaches to international law, economic security, and law and technology.