The Offshore World

the long version

"In this account of the offshore economy, Ronen Palan investigates the legal spaces, unregulated and yet maintained and supported by the state system, that have emerged for purposes of international finance, tax havens, export processing zones, flags of convenience, and e-commerce." "Palan believes that a rapidly expanding offshore economy is now producing a new market in sovereignty; states have discovered that their authority to create law may be used as a commercial asset. This commercialization of sovereignty, he asserts, undermines the legitimacy of the nation-state and supports a form of nomadic capitalism."--Jacket.