Quantitative International Comparisons: A Tale of Missed Encounters

The chapter focuses on the particular technology of knowledge and governance that has spread globally in the last fifty years, namely: quantitative comparisons. This refers to the production and repetition of quantitative comparative exercises, often called indicators, to describe and control the social world. The emergence of global indicators could (and should) be of interest for international and comparative lawyers alike, and yet it so far went almost unnoticed by experts of both disciplines. In order to understand why this is so what potential is missed, the chapter takes as a case study one particular instance of the current ‘indicatorization’ turn – the production by international organizations of global legal indicators (GLIs). The analysis of GLIs will provide an excellent case study not only for exploring the uncharted grey zone between international and comparative law, but also for testing current limitations and prospective trends for both disciplines.