ESIL Interest Group History of International Law

ESIL Interest Group History of International Law

Friday 31 August 2018

CALL FOR PAPERS: Edited book (Palgrave Macmillan): Governing the Colonial State: the Belgian rule in Africa (1884-1962) (eds. Aurore FRANCOIS (UCLouvain), Françoise MULLER (UCLouvain), Xavier ROUSSEAUX (UCLouvain) and Nathalie TOUSIGNANT (USL-B)

(image source: Wikimedia Commons)

The main purpose of the book is provide for an anglophone audience, recent research done on Belgian colonial history (Congo Free State, Belgian Congo, Ruanda-Urundi), with a focus on the colonial governance.

The proposed texts could address a specific topic or be a synthesis of a more general research (Ph.D.) and written in English, or in French.

If you are interested in contributing to the book, please send for the 3
September 2018, a CV, a title and 500-word abstract to   

    nathalie.tousignant@usaintlouis.be  and  
    xavier.rousseaux@uclouvain.be

Full texts due : 15 December 2018.
Revised (translated) versions : July 2019.
Publication : Summer 2020.
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan (first contacts at ESSHC (European Social Science History Conference) in Belfast, April 2018 (X. Rousseaux)).
Editors, in alphabetical order: Aurore François (Université Catholique de Louvain), Françoise Muller (Université Catholique de Louvain), Xavier Rousseaux Université Catholique de Louvain) and Nathalie Tousignant (Université Saint-Louis – Bruxelles).

This project aims at providing to English-reading audience an access to the most recent and prolific research on Belgian colonial history, including Congo Free State era, Belgian Congo and mandates on Rwanda and Burundi, between 1885-1962. It focuses on the history of colonial governance, as the history of law and justice in these regions has developed, in the footpath of an abundant literature on the history of Belgian experience of law and justice during the 19th and 20th centuries and of vanguard research on British and French imperial territories.
After a decade of collective research, the four editors would bring together contributions on Belgafrican Magistrates Social Networks, with a focus on the actors of governance, their training, their social belongings and intellectual production, their professional curricula. Favouring an approach based on prosopography, a specific application has been developed to collect in a single database all information available in printed official literature and in archives. At the same time, legal colonial periodicals have been digitized to facilitate the access and to allow data mining in thousands of pages written by magistrates and territorial administrators. Therefore, these people represent only a part of the complex Belgian colonial societyeither in Central Africa or in Europe. At this stage, the aim relies in the necessity to contextualize broadly these results in the materiality of colonial experience, limited to the Belgian point of view, as the sources are mainly produced by European authorities and are exclusively written.
The opportunity to cross-examine contemporary situations, e.g. inter-wars, might help to provincialize the metropolitan droit de regard: a recurring claim made by the actors formulates the lack of resources, both human and financial, to properly conduct the tasks they were devoted to in the broader “civilizing mission” in a “model colony”. These assertions need to be challenged. On the same token, field legal practitioners proudly recollect these days as a personal adventure, in which their achievements rely on débrouillardise and bricolage. The “golden age”, either the inter-wars or the post-1945 period, nourishes nostalgia in many communities. Could it be casted, reframed in a broader perspective, especially once the colonial professional moment is closed and that professional re-insertion in metropolis proved to be more complicated, even before 19601962?
Finally, the place of violence in colonial governance represents a significant imperial set of debris. The multifaceted violence translates anxieties in a very codified and stratified colonial situation. Legal provisions are unequivocal. Visual material, oral traditions and popular art contrast and providing another understanding of imperial experience.

(source: ESCLH Blog)

Thursday 30 August 2018

JOURNAL: Journal of the History of International Law/Revue d'histoire du droit international XX (2018), Nr. 2

(image source: Brill)

Articles:

  • "A ‘Civilizing Task’: The International Labour Organization, Social Reform, and the Genealogy of Development" (Guy Fiti Sinclair)
  • "A Critical Legal Approach to the South China Sea Territorial Dispute" (Melissa H. Loja)
  • "Protection of Private Property in the Early Law of Nations" (Ivar Alvik)
Book reviews:
  • "The Guardians: The League of Nations and the Crisis of Empire , written by Susan Pedersen" (Victor Kattan)
  • "Naulila 1914. World War I in Angola and International Law. A Study in (Post-)Colonial Border Regimes and Interstate Arbitration , written by Jakob Zollmann" (Raphael Schäfer)
More information here.

Tuesday 28 August 2018

ESIL ANNUAL CONFERENCE MANCHESTER - PRE CONFERENCE EVENT : Non-European experiences with the law of nations in comparative perspective (Manchester, 13 Sep 2018)

(image source: Travelodge)

The path from the European law of nations to a universal system of international law has attracted wide scholarly attention in the past decade. A variety of approaches have challenged the narrative of a European system that simply expands and covers most of the planet in the late 19th century. For example, scholars identifying with the TWAIL movement (Third world approaches to international law) have criticized modern international law as a product of western imperialism and colonialism. Building from this critique, other scholars have begun to ask how non-European conceptions and influences shaped and re-formed the European law of nations on its path towards becoming a global system. How can we read non-European jurists, lawyers, state leaders and peoples as producers, not just consumers, of international law?

Politicians, lawyers and activists from non-European countries are now seen as more than mere vessels through which the tradition of the European law of nations was stamped into new contexts. Rather, scholars now explore the impact of local elites in shaping the way international law was received into their regions. But to what extent were they successful in shaping international law as a whole? We need a stronger analytical framework to explore the broader picture and a more precise understanding of how each region’s or nation’s encounter with international law shaped both their own experience and aspects of the international system. 

After a double blind peer review-process, the ESIL Interest Group History of International Law selected the following papers:

Prof. dr. Aiko Nakai (Kyoto University, Kyoto): Latin American International Law as the First Regional International Law: The First Step of Irreversible Relativisation of European International Law
dra. Lys Kulamadayil (Graduate Institute, Geneva): Fairy-Tale International Law
Dr. Oleksandr Vodyannikov (OSCE): Forgotten Europe’s Borderland: the Rise and Fall of Indigenous System of ius gentium intermariae (X – XVII centuries) and postcolonial histories of Eastern Europe

The Steering Committee warmly invites all members and conference attendants to join us for the discussion.

Steering Committee
Jan Lemnitzer (president) (University of Southern Denmark)
Markus Beham (Vienna/Passau)
Martin Clark (LSE)
Frederik Dhondt (VUB/UAntwerpen)
Hossein Piran (Iran/US Claims Tribunal)

 More information (including registration) on the ESIL Conference's main page.

Monday 27 August 2018

JOURNAL : European Journal of International Law XXIX (2018), Issue 2


(Source: Oxford Academic)

The latest issue of the European Journal of International Law contains a “Symposium: International Law and the First World War: Belligerency and Neutrality”. Here the full contents:

Editorial
JHHW, Black Lies, White Lies and Some Uncomfortable Truths in and of the International Trading System; Authors of EJIL – Customer Care; In this Issue
Articles
Itamar Mann, Maritime Legal Black Holes: Migration and Rightlessness in International Law
Leora Bilsky & Rachel Klagsbrun, The Return of Cultural Genocide?
David Kosař & Jan Petrov, Determinants of Compliance Difficulties among ‘Good Compliers’: Implementation of International Human Rights Rulings in the Czech Republic
Devika Hovell, The Authority of Universal Jurisdiction
Symposium: International Law and the First World War: Belligerency and Neutrality
Stephen C Neff, Disrupting a Delicate Balance: The Allied Blockade Policy and the Law of Maritime Neutrality during the Great War
Andrew J Norris, Uninvited and Unwelcome: The SS Appam and the US Law of Neutrality
Roaming Charges
Roaming Charges: Moments of History
Focus: Investment Arbitration
Gus Van Harten, Leaders in the Expansive and Restrictive Interpretation of Investment Treaties: A Descriptive Study of ISDS Awards to 2010
Malcolm Langford & Daniel Behn, Managing Backlash: The Evolving Investment Treaty Arbitrator?
Focus: Geography of Human Rights
Tilmann Altwicker, Transnationalizing Rights: International Human Rights Law in Cross-Border Contexts
Barbara Oomen & Moritz Baumgärtel, Frontier Cities: The Rise of Local Authorities as an Opportunity for International Human Rights Law
Review Essay
Akbar Rasulov, A Marxism for International Law: A New Agenda
Book Reviews
Jochen von Bernstorff, reviewing Benjamin Allen Coates, Legalist Empire: International Law and American Foreign Relations in the Early Twentieth Century
Monica Hakimi, reviewing Ian Hurd, How to Do Things with International Law
Jan Klabbers, reviewing Michael Ignatieff, The Ordinary Virtues: Moral Order in a Divided World
The Last Page
Ela Kotkowska, A Migrant Song

More information here

Friday 24 August 2018

CALL FOR PAPERS: Roman Yearbook of International Law, Inaugural Issue, DEADLINE: 28 FEBRUARY 2019


(Source: RYIL)

We learned of a Call for Papers for the inaugural issue of the Roman Yearbook of International Law. The focus theme is “The 90th anniversary of the creation of the Vatican City State: an international law perspective”. Here the call:

The Editors of RYIL invite submissions for the Inaugural Issue Vol. No. 1 (2019) of the RYIL.

Focus Theme
The Focus Theme for the Issue Vol. No. 1 is:
The 90th anniversary of the creation of the Vatican City State: an international law perspective.

The following topics have been optioned:
Editorial
The creation of the Vatican City State and the discussion of the international legal personality of the Holy See within the European context between the 19th and the 20th century.
G. Dalla Torre, The enhanced mutual legal assistance between the Holy See and Italy pursuant to the Lateran Treaty
T. Di Ruzza, The territory of the Vatican City State and the extraterritorial areas of the Holy See
R. Ranjeva, The recognition of the Holy See and the Westphalian State system: an alternative paradigm of State?
General Section
The General Section hosts Articles, Notes and Comments addressing general issues of international law and practice not necessarily linked to the practice of the Holy See and the Vatican City State.
The following topics have been optioned:
V. Buonomo, The reception of the international law in the Vatican City State legal order
E. Decaux, The Holy See as State party to human rights law treaties
E. Mikos-Skuza, The Holy See and the development of the humanitarian law

Deadline
Submissions, including a statement of affiliation, brief abstract and confirmation of exclusive submission, shall be sent by 28 February 2019 via e‐mail at the address: submissions@ryil.org.

Language
The RYIL publishes manuscripts in English.

Double blind review
All manuscripts submitted will be evaluated for their scientific quality and contribution to the academic debate. They will be subject to double blind review.

Statement of Affiliation
Authors must provide a brief statement of affiliation in the first footnote of their manuscripts.

Abstract and Keywords
Manuscripts proposed as articles must include an abstract (100-200 words) and keywords (6 to 8 words).

Original Work
Authors must confirm that the article they wish to submit has only been submitted to the RYIL, that the article has not been previously published and that it is not currently under consideration for another Publication and/or by another Publisher.

Length Requirements
Word counts for manuscripts vary by section and subject matter. These counts are therefore intended as guidance rather than as strict requirements. Submissions significantly above or below these ranges may be returned to authors for revision. All word counts are inclusive of footnotes.
Articles: 8.000-15.000 words
Notes and Comments: 2.000-7.000 words
Reviews: 1.500-3.000 words

Technical Requirements
Articles must be submitted in MS Word (up to version 2010) or WordPerfect (up to X5).

Formatting
Submissions must be saved in a standard format (Times New Roman or Arial) with unjustified right margins, 1.5 lines spacing and without automatic hyphenation.

Reference style
Footnotes and reference must be presented according to the Oxford Reference Style.

Editorial policy
The Editors accept manuscripts with the understanding that the contents are original and unpublished materials and that they have not been submitted for publication elsewhere.
Authors using previous and unpublished materials (working papers, research-projects, lectures, conferences, short shots etc.) or their parts must indicate their intentions at the time of the submission.
Authors submitting manuscripts consent to the double blind review process and expressly confirm that their manuscripts have not been submitted and are not under consideration for publication elsewhere. Double submissions will be rejected without exception.
Authors intending to republish RYIL’s Articles (as well as Notes, Comments, or Reviews) must have the prior consent of the Editors.
The Editors reserve the right to return manuscripts if they do not meet RYIL’s standards. If a manuscript is accepted for publication but does not conform to the RYIL’s standards, the Editors reserve the right to return the manuscript to the Author for revisions.
Authors have the right to make final corrections to the proofs prior to printing within the given deadline, bearing in mind that only minor corrections can be made to proofs.

Authors of published Articles, Notes, Comments and Reviews receive an off-prints of the Issue.
The CIDIR has the ownership of the copyright of any published manuscript.

More information here

(source: ESCLH Blog)

Thursday 23 August 2018

COLLOQIUM: Le principe d’autodétermination un siècle après le traité de Versailles : d’hier à aujourd’hui - et demain ? (26-27 September 2018, Strasbourg)



Via Portail Universitaire du Droit, we learned of a colloquium dealing with aspects of the principle of self-determination over the last century. Here the programme: 

Mercredi 26 septembre / Mittwoch, den 26. September
(Faculté de droit)
13:45 : Accueil des participants/Empfang der Teilnehmer/-innen
14:00 : Allocutions d’ouverture / Eröffnungsansprachen
Le principe d’autodétermination dans le contexte de la décolonisation/Das Selbstbestimmungsprinzip im Rahmen der Entkolonialisierung
Président/ Sitzungsleiter : Robert Uerpmann-Wittzack
14:30 : Uti possidetis juris et droit des peuples à disposer d’eux-mêmes : le premier peut-il condamner la réalisation du second ? / Uti possidetis juris und Selbstbestimmungsrecht der Völker : Könnte Ersteres die Verwirklichung des Letzteren verhindern ? 

Hamedy Camara, Université Paris-Sud XI/ Universität Paris-Sud XI

Le droit à l’autodétermination dans la médiation pour la paix : entre paix libérale et post-colonialisme / Das Selbstbestimmungsrecht in der Friedensmediation : Zwischen liberal peace und Post-Kolonialismus 

Felix Würkert, Université Europe Viadrina de Francfort (Oder) / Europa-Universität Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder)

L’Etat-Nation face à la revendication autochtone : l’autodétermination interne du peuple kanak de Nouvelle-Calédonie/ Der Nationalstaat im Angesicht von Unabhängigkeitsbewegungen : Die interne Selbstbestimmung des kanakischen Volkes in Neukaledonien 

Anne-Lise Madinier, Université de Perpignan et Université d’Ottawa/ Universität Perpignan und Universität Ottawa

16:00 : Pause
Création d’Etats dans la société internationale contemporaine/Schaffung der Staaten in der heutigen Völkergemeinschaft
Président/ Sitzungsleiter : Stefan Oeter
16:30 : Le principe d’autodétermination en interaction entre l’ONU et l’Etat/ Das Selbstbestimmungsprinzip im Zusammenspiel zwischen UNO und Staat 

Edith Vanspranghe, Université Paris 8 et Université libre de Bruxelles/ Universität Paris 8 und Université libre de Bruxelles

Droit à l’autodétermination et Etats in statu nascendi/ Recht auf Selbstbestimmung und im Entstehen befindliche Staaten 

Robin Caballero, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne et Université Humboldt de Berlin/ Universität Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne und Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin

La limitation par la description : les voies d’une juridicisation de la sécession/ Beschränkung durch Beschreibung : Wege zur Verrechtlichung der Sezession 

Lennart Bültermann, Université de Jena/ Universität Jena

18:00 : Fin de la journée/ Ende des Tages

Jeudi 27 septembre / Donnerstag, den 27. September
(Bâtiment Escarpe)
L’autodétermination de et dans l'Etat constitué dans la sphère politique/Selbstbestimmung des und im bereits bestehenden Staat(es) im politischen Bereich
Président/ Sitzungsleiter : Antoine Basset
09:30 : L’évolution du droit à l’autodétermination : de l’aspiration à l’étaticité au droit à la démocratie ? / Selbstbestimmungsrecht im Wandel –vom eigenen Staat zum Recht auf Demokratie ? 

Ralph Janik, Université de Vienne/ Universität Wien

La constitutionnalisation du droit à l’autodétermination à l’épreuve de la thèse des limites matérielles au pouvoir de révision constitutionnelle/ Die Konstitutionalisierung des Selbstbestimmung srechts als Ausdruckeiner materiellen Beschränkung der verfassungsändernden Gewalt 

Anthony Sfez, Université Paris 2 Panthéon-Assas/ Universität Paris 2 Panthéon-Assas

Le rôle du principe d’autodétermination dans l’Union européenne/ Die Rolle des Selbstbestimmungsprinzips in der EU 

Elisa Stotz, Université de Constance/ Universität Konstanz

Le principe d’autodétermination et le principe de bon voisinage/ Das völkerrechtliche Selbstbestimmungsprinzip und das Prinzip der guten nachbarschaftlichen Beziehungen 

Mihai Corman, Université Humboldt de Berlin/ Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin

Droits politiques des anciens guérilleros en Colombie/ Politische Partizipationsrechte ehemaliger Guerilla-Kämpfer in Kolumbien 

Victoria Adouvi, Université de Francfort/ Universität Frankfurt

12:30 : Pause déjeuner/ Mittagspause
L’autodétermination en matière économique/Selbstbestimmung im wirtschaftlichen Bereich
Président/Sitzungsleiter : Matthias Goldmann
14:30 : Autodétermination et droit budgétaire/Selbstbestimmung und Budgetrecht 

Kevin Hinzen, Université de Francfort/ Universität Frankfurt

Souveraineté fiscale et droit à l’autodétermination/ Steuerhoheit und Selbstbestimmungsrecht 

Celine Braumann, Université de Vienne/ Universität Wien

Protection des investissements et autodétermination de l’Etat/ Investitionsschutz und staatliche Selbstbestimmung 

Alicia Köppen, Université Humboldt de Berlin/ Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin

16:00 : Pause
Le principe d’autodétermination dans le droit des minorités et des droits de l’homme/Das Selbstbestimmungsprinzip im Minderheiten recht und Menschenrechtsschutz
Président/ Sitzungsleiter : Ivan Boev
16:30 : Le droit à l’autodétermination dans les traités de protection des droits de l’homme : à la recherche d’une reconnaissance effective ?/Das Recht auf Selbstbestimmung in den Menschenrechtsabkommen: Eine Suche nach seiner effektiven Anerkennung ? 

Arnaud Lobry, Université Cergy-Pontoise / Universität Cergy-Pontoise

La relation du principe d’autodétermination avec les droits individuels/ Der Zusammenhang zwischen dem Selbstbestimmungsprinzip und subjektiven Rechten 

Stefanos Gakis, Université de Strasbourg/ Universität Straßburg

Les minorités à l’épreuve de l’autodétermination : quelle évolution en droit international ?/ Minderheiten und Selbstbestimmung : Zur Entwicklung Des Völkerrechts 

Liliana Haquin-Saenz, Université Lyon 3/ Universität Lyon 3

18:00 : Remarques conclusives/ Schlusswort 

Stefan Oeter


Contact/Kontact : fru6703-contact@unistra.fr


(Source: ESCLH Blog)

Saturday 18 August 2018

CALL FOR ENGAGED LISTENERS: Politics and the histories of international law (Heidelberg: MPI for Comparative Public Law and International Law, 15-16 FEB 2019); DEADLINE 30 SEP 2018


JHIL Journal of the History of International Law

Call for engaged listeners
Deadline: 30 September 2018

“Politics and the histories of international law”


Conference organised by the 
Journal of the History of International Law (JHIL)

Heidelberg, 15 – 16 February 2019

On 15 and 16 February 2019, an international conference will be held at the Max Planck Institute for International Law in Heidelberg, Germany, under the auspices of the Journal of the History of
International Law. Selected scholars will present and discuss their papers in different parallel panels (see draft programme attached). The aim is to publish these papers (upon peer review) in a focus issue on ‘Politics and the Histories of International Law’ in the journal. 


‘L’histoire n’est pas une religion. L’historien n’accepte aucun dogme, ne respecte aucun interdit, ne connaît pas de tabous. Il peut être dérangeant’
(Liberté pour l’histoire, 2005)

Almost all scholarship on international law and its history has political implications. Some say that international legal scholarship is inevitably ideological in nature and that its findings depend on concealed political preferences. Put differently, legal scholarship could be nothing more than the pseudo-objective defence of ruling ideologies. Most famously, Hans Kelsen had denounced a ‘tendency wide-spread among writers on international law’ to produce ‘political ideology’. Kelsen sought to escape this by writing books of a ‘purely juristic character’ (Principles of International Law, 2nd ed. 1967, ix). In his foreword to the commentary on the UN Charter of 1950, he stressed that ‘separation of law from politics in the presentation of national or international problems is possible’ (The Law of the United Nations, 1950, viii).
Many nowadays doubt that purging international legal scholarship of politics would work. Martti Koskenniemi in 2004 put this as follows: ‘The choice is not between law and politics, but between one politics of law, and another. Everything is at stake, but not for everyone’ (EJIL 16 (2005), 123). 
So which factors ‘politicise’ international legal scholarship? The first factor is that the object under investigation is itself a political matter. International law has throughout its history been political, because its content depends on the political power of the parties negotiating the treaties, and because it transports political values. 
Scholars themselves cannot completely avoid being more or less political actors, because their value judgements, which are inescapable, often carry political implications. However, an important difference between doing scholarship and doing politics lies in the authors’ main intention: It is, ideal-typically, not the primary purpose of scholarship to make politics and unbounded evaluation but to generate knowledge − which could then be used politically, by the author herself or by others. Along this line, most scholars of history seek to uncover various aspects of past events and debates and to contextualise them, thereby realising a modicum of objectivity and neutrality. Some consciously try to avoid judgment, while others are more prone to judging deliberately and to employing historical insights in contemporary political debates.

Research on the history of international law is not only inherently political but moreover specifically ‘risk-prone’. Writing on topics such as genocide, state of exception, failed states, humanitarian intervention, asymmetrical war, or cyber-attacks is especially liable to being used and abused by participants in political controversies. In fact, when it comes to writing history, the fight over master narratives is especially fierce, among governments, in different academic camps, and between governments and academics. The notorious example are memory laws which consecrate specific views on atrocities of the past (especially genocidal massacres) and which sometimes additionally criminalise the denial of those atrocities. These attempts to close historical debates by law has been criticised by historians, most famously in the petition ‘Liberté pour l‘histoire’ by French historians reacting against various French memory laws. 
To conclude, the interpretations of historical events are almost inescapably political, and potentially have the power to shape international relations: ‘On résiste à l’invasion des armées; on ne résiste pas à l’invasion des idées’ (Victor Hugo, Histoire d’un crime, 1877/2009, 639). It is against this background that the rights and responsibilities of those researching on the history of international law should be seen. 


The conference will be restricted to panellists and to a limited number of engaged listeners. 

If you are interested in participating in the audience (not as a speaker) and thus contribute to our discussion, please send an application with a short motivation letter explaining your interest in the conference and current research interests (maximum 400 words) along with your CV to the managing editor of the JHIL at conf.jhil.2019@mpil.de. The deadline for applications is 30 September 2018. Applications arriving after this date will not be taken into consideration. Successful applicants will be notified until the end of October 2018.

Participation is free of charge, but at your own expense. Please note that travel and accommodation costs cannot be covered by the organizers. Admitted engaged listeners must secure their own accommodation and are advised to do this early. 

The conference will last from Friday morning, 15 February to Saturday noon, 16 February 2019. It will start with an informal get-together of speakers and engaged listeners on Thursday evening, 14 February 2019.

Venue: Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and Public International Law, Im Neuenheimer Feld 535, D-69120 Heidelberg, Germany.

For updated technical information on the conference see


Anne Peters and Raphael Schäfer

Contact: conf.jhil.2019@mpil.de

19 July 2018

Thursday 16 August 2018

ARTICLE: Catherine S ARNOLD, "Affairs of Humanity: Arguments for Humanitarian Intervention in England and Europe, 1698–1715" (English Historical Review CXXXIII (2018), Issue 563), 835-865

(image source: Oxford Academic)

Abstract:
Why and how did a new type of intervention, intended to prevent rulers from punishing individuals for their religious beliefs and justified using natural law, emerge in England during the first decade of the eighteenth century? This article traces its origins to the War of the Spanish Succession, when Huguenot publicists and diplomats petitioned English politicians to negotiate freedom for Huguenot prisoners in France. In campaigning for prisoners’ freedom rather than for the restoration of Huguenot corporate rights in France, Huguenot publicists and diplomats had to justify intervention in universalising, non-confessional terms. Because those prisoners were not protected by treaty law, the laws of war, or the laws of France, they cited Protestant and humanist traditions of natural law and theories of natural sociability to justify negotiating their release. In so doing, they invited European readers, politicians and monarchs to sympathise with distant strangers—and even to take political action on their behalf—not only because they shared a common faith, but also because they belonged to human society and shared a common humanity. These arguments circulated both in print and among European diplomats, altering the conduct of international affairs. In England, this article shows, Huguenot campaigns influenced debates about intervention and English foreign policy-making. Thus, this article suggests a new narrative for the diffusion of humanitarian argument in eighteenth-century western European political culture.
Source: Oxford Academic.