There was no major legislative initiative leading to the development of mandatory arbitration. No political figures included it in their policy platforms. The statutory basis for this new institution was an act passed in the 1920s. So why did it emerge? In Privatizing Justice: Arbitration and the Decline of Public Governance in the U.S., Sarah Staszak takes on this puzzle.

Staszak tells the story of how arbitration in the United States, rooted in Progressive-era commitments to easier, more accessible, and fairer dispute resolution, became the powerful tool corporate actors now use to protect their interests, impose their will, and evade accountability.