Arab-australian trade and investment in an era of challenges to the liberal international order

The fall of the Berlin Wall was followed by the rise of an international trade and investment regime grounded in reducing barriers to the flow of goods, services, and people across borders. For the Gulf states of the Middle East, the opening of markets fundamentally transformed their economies and enabled them to develop vibrant economic relations with numerous countries outside of the region, including Australia. Key to these developments was the emergence of associated legal institutions and principles. Yet recent challenges to globalisation, which even tackle the international governance structure as reflected in the United Nations and international financial institutions, have shown the fragility of a system that was once considered robust. What has been described as the liberal international order is strained, to put it mildly. This chapter examines legal aspects of Arab states–Australian trade and investment with contemporary developments in mind, arguing that these states continue to embrace elements of the liberal international order, and it is these elements that are critical to the relationship.