The birth of cyberspace as a “global social space”Footnote ¹ in the 1990s compelled the promotion of digital trade rules to become synonymous with western conceptions of an open and largely unregulated internet. Inevitably, this endeavour began to unravel in the coming decades as states asserted sovereign controls over the internet ostensibly to protect individual rights, promote domestic industry in the data driven economy, and further national security objectives. These domestic policy movements shaped in turn by a broad ecosystem of domestic and transnational political actors are here to stay, leading to a fragmented global data governance landscape and a consequent undermining of international trade law.

In a departure from much of the prevailing scholarship on digital trade, Mishra accepts this reality and deftly crafts solutions that frame international trade law and domestic policy interests as competing constructs that can be harmonized rather than conflicting with and undermining each other. Mishra conceptualizes a global data governance regime that grapples with but rises above regulatory fragmentation. The proposed multi-layered framework offers pragmatic solutions, deferring not only to the domestic policy interests of states but also accommodating civil society actors and the private sector.

After an introduction that adroitly lays down these concepts and the state of the literature, each of the six operative chapters of the book delve into the nuances of an important but thorny domestic and transnational data governance challenge. The second chapter deals with the interface between trade law and data privacy, proposing solutions rooted in greater flexibilities in trade agreements that effectively incorporate transnational and multi-stakeholder standards on data protection and data transfers. The third chapter engages with cybersecurity, and proposes reforms to international trade law through institutional innovations that enable the transparent reporting of cybersecurity measures as well as greater synergy between trade bodies and globally competitive multi stakeholder cybersecurity standards. Next, Mishra deals with data access – a challenge that has been recognized by law enforcement authorities the world over, given that much of the world’s data continues to be stored in the United States, and proposes multiple solutions rooted in balancing prohibitions on data localisations with a commitment to respond readily to legitimate data access requests. In the next chapter, Mishra moves to the developing world and conceptualizes how trade law can develop a framework to address, rather than exacerbate, the global data divide by enabling tailored, technical assistance, capacity-building, and technical transfers.

While Mishra’s solutions holistically engage with regulatory approaches across jurisdictions in great depth, the legal focus of this book means that it does not engage with issues, actors, institutions, and geopolitical interests that will ultimately shape the nature and operationalization of the multi-layered framework. This is a critical question that inter-disciplinary scholarship and methods rooted in political economy and international relations must address and evaluate the political feasibility of Mishra’s intricate legal theses.