The Third Wave of Globalization in Competition Policy: Uncertainty, Fragmentation and Institutional Experimentation

• 成果类型: Article; Early Access
• 署名作者: Pereira Neto, Caio Mario da Silva; Sadami, Arthur
• 署名单位: Universidade de Sao Paulo; Yale University
• 刊物名称: REGULATION & GOVERNANCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1748-5983; 1748-5991
• DOI: 10.1111/rego.70140
• 发表日期: 2026-05-05
• 关键词: competition policy; democracy-enhancing governance; GLOBALIZATION; institutional convergence; regulatory experimentation; epistemic communities; LAW; ENFORCEMENT; networks; RETHINKING; creation; cartel; WORLD

摘要

This Article examines the globalization of competition policy through three waves. The first, led by the U.S. in the 1990s, embedded antitrust within the Washington Consensus, promoting worldwide diffusion of regimes, enforcement standards, and market-liberalization principles. The second, in the 2000s, advanced harmonization and convergence through international networks, capacity-building initiatives, and the promotion of best practices as global benchmarks. Since the mid-2010s, a third wave has emerged as jurisdictions react to uncertainty, fragmentation, and institutional diversity by experimenting with alternative regulatory approaches, breaking with the earlier convergence trend. Rather than signaling a retreat from globalization, this phase reframes it as a decentralized, adaptive, and more politically contested process. We argue that the third wave marks a critical departure from prior models, opening space to reimagine global competition policy-but also heightening risks of fragmentation, geopolitical contestation, and hierarchical forms of rule export and subordination. To keep pluralism constructive, we propose a democracy-enhancing framework that strengthens cooperation on transnational challenges while safeguarding national autonomy and fostering institutional diversity.