PODCAST: War and Democracy, the case of Athens (France Culture: Concordance des temps, 19 DEC 2020)

(image source: France Culture)

Abstract:

On s’était bien trompé ! On avait nourri bien des illusions, dans les années 1990, chez ceux qui avaient annoncé qu’après l’effondrement de l’URSS, couplé avec la fin des conflits coloniaux, la démocratie était vouée, grâce à la paix, à triompher bientôt sur toute la planète. On se souvient que le professeur américain Francis Fukuyama avait ainsi prédit la « fin de l’Histoire », autrement dit le triomphe du modèle politique des États-Unis tout autour de la Terre, selon une logique incoercible. Hélas ! le XXIe siècle s’est déjà chargé de faire voler en éclats cette belle illusion en nous rappelant que les relations entre la guerre, la paix et la démocratie, qui vont nous occuper ce matin, étaient bien plus compliquées que cela. Certes, une défaite existentielle a raison de presque tous les régimes. Les cas récents de la France comme de l’Allemagne nous l’ont assez appris - pour ne pas parler du Japon en 1945 ou, plus près de nous, de l’Argentine, dans l’affaire des Malouines. Mais on ne peut pas s’en tenir à cette simple observation. Et afin d’approfondir la réflexion dans ce domaine, nous allons braquer l’attention sur un cas particulier, celui de la guerre dite du Péloponnèse, qui opposa Athènes à Sparte, au cours des trois dernières décennies du IVe siècle avant notre ère. On a accoutumé de parler d’Athènes comme de la « mère des démocraties ». Il est donc pertinent de considérer, en comparaison avec notre temps, quels effets ces hostilités ont eus sur la marche d’un régime qui demeure si prestigieux mais aussi quelle influence la nature même de ce régime a pu avoir sur la conduite de la guerre. Mon invité, Vincent Azoulay, directeur d’études à l’EHESS, appartient à une nouvelle génération d’historiens de l’Antiquité qui bousculent beaucoup d’idées reçues. Il a le goût manifeste des rapprochements entre le passé et le présent. Je me devais par conséquent de le convier. C’est chose faite. 

(more information here)

JOURNAL: Grotiana XLI (2020), No. 2

(image souce: Grotiana)

 

Grotius on the Use of Force: Perfect, Imperfect and Civil Wars. An Introduction (Randall Lesaffer) (OPEN ACCESS)

First paragraph:

In both of Hugo Grotius’s major forays into the law of nations, the just war doctrine provided the backbone of the argument. Between 1604 and 1606, Grotius prepared a treatise in defence of the capture of the Portuguese ship Santa Catarina in the Strait of Singapore by a fleet of the Dutch East India Company. In the text, which became known as De iure praedae commentarius upon its publication in 1868, Grotius refashioned the just war doctrine in order to argue that the captured ship and cargo were good prize in a just war. According to Grotius, this was the case regardless of whether one considered the Company an agent of the Dutch Republic in a war between states, or a private actor.

Perfect War: Alberico Gentili on the Use of Force and the Early Modern Law of Nations (Valentina Vadi)

Abstract:

Gentili’s conceptualization of war as a conflict between states attempted to limit the legitimacy of war to external wars only, thus precluding the legitimacy of civil wars. It reflected both the emergence of sovereign states and the vision of international law as a law among polities rather than individuals. The conceptualization of war as a dispute settlement mechanism among polities rather than a punishment for breach of the law of nations and the idea of the bilateral justice of war humanized the conduct of warfare and the content of peace treaties. The idea of perfect war excluded brigandage, piracy, and civil wars from its purview. Some scholars have suggested that perfect war had a dark side, legitimizing imperial expansion. Others have cautioned that Gentili explicitly opposed imperial expansion rather adopting anti-imperialist stances. This article suggests that these ambivalent readings of the Gentilian oeuvre reflect the ambivalence of the early modern law of nations. Under the early modern law of nations, aggression for the sake of empire was clearly unjust; nonetheless, imperial expansion took place. Whereas ‘a law which many transgress[ed] [wa]s nonetheless a law’, there was a wide divide between theory and practice

Hugo Grotius, Declaration of War, and the International Moral Order (Camilla Boisen)

Abstract:

This article investigates the formal purpose of declaring wars for Hugo Grotius. Grotius was adamant that states always use justification in a duplicitous way to conceal their real motivation to go to war. As such, the purpose of declaration is not to assert the just cause of war. Rather, what any public declaration does, is provide recognition that confers legal validation to the disputing parties. The legal rules of war were described by the law of nations and occasionally permitted states to commit certain ‘war crimes’ with impunity. For Grotius, this was not a moral sanctioning of such crimes but rather a means to prevent the occurrence of wars, which such endless repudiations risked causing or exacerbating. Grotius’s concern for the effects of war is conspicuous; and recounting his maxim that war should always be a last resort, this article argues that declaration of war has a distinct moral purpose for Grotius. In fact, public declaration of war is, together with constraints on the conduct of war, a ‘principle of moderation’ Grotius insists should be upheld in times of war. Declaration of war gives the parties avenues to seek peace and reconciliation, and, therefore has a humanitarian purpose for Grotius by ultimately seeking to prevent the disparaging effects of war. Even in wars that do not demand a public declaration, such as those regulated by natural law such as punitive wars or defensive wars, Grotius cautions that declarations of war are advisable. The remaining lingering issue is how to engage with unlawful enemy combatants, such as pirates - a distinct problem that the international community still faces with increasing regularity. Grotius was certainly aware of the legal (and moral) consequences of recognising belligerency we cannot possible hope to build moral relations with, and, this article claims, ‘unlawful’ enemies ultimately demarcates the boundary of international society.

'Remedium repraesaliarum’: The Medieval and Early Modern Practice and Theory of Reprisal within the Just War Doctrine (Philippine Christina Van den Brande)

Abstract:

Centuries before being included in Hugo Grotius’s De iure belli ac pacis and De iure praedae, the subject of reprisal was already being discussed in medieval literature. The aim of this paper is to examine the medieval and early modern practice and theory of reprisal as it developed before and during Grotius’s lifetime. Its first part investigates a number of important foundational elements, such as the issues of definition and terminology, and the common characteristics of a reprisal case. In the second half, the author explores why reprisals were deemed to be a ‘perversus mos’ or ‘bad custom’ and how continued reliance on this practice was nonetheless justified by inserting it into the medieval just war doctrine. The paper does not provide a systematic study of Grotius’s own engagement with medieval reprisal sources. Rather, it should be read in conjunction with another publication in this same volume, ‘Grotius on Reprisal’ by Randall Lesaffer.

Grotius on Reprisal (Randall Lesaffer) (OPEN ACCESS)

Abstract:

In neither of his two major forays into the laws of war and peace – De iure praedae or De iure belli ac pacis – did Hugo Grotius discuss the legal institutions of reprisal – whether special or general – or privateering in their own right. His profoundly novel reading of the just war doctrine in the context of his theory of natural rights, however, gave powerful legitimisation to the practices of special reprisals, as well as of privateering in times of war and of peace.

Corporate Belligerency and the Delegation Theory from Grotius to Westlake (Rotem Giladi)

Abstract:

This article starts with a critical reflection on John Westlake’s reading of the history of empire and the English/British East India Company – for him, essentially, the proper concern of ‘constitutional history’ rather than international law. For Westlake, approaching this history through the prism of nineteenth-century positivist doctrine, the Company’s exercise of war powers could only result from state delegation. Against his warnings to international lawyers not to stray from the proper boundaries of international legal inquiry, the article proceeds to recover Hugo Grotius’s theory of corporate belligerency in his early treatise De iure praedae. For Grotius, corporations could wage public war on behalf of the state yet, at the same time, were in law capable of waging private war in their own right. The article proceeds to reflect on the practice of corporate belligerency in the centuries separating Westlake and Grotius; it concludes with observations on the implications of Grotius’s theory of corporate belligerency today

Grotius and Late Medieval Ius Commune on Rebellion and Civil War (Dante Fedele)

Abstract:

This paper explores the presence of late medieval ius commune in Grotius’s thought on the use of force in internal strife and war, based on De iure belli ac pacis (1625). To this end, it examines Grotius’s use of ius commune sources, and considers some similar sources, which he does not actually cite, but which relate to his discussion. By clarifying Grotius’s selection and use of ius commune sources, the paper intends to contribute to the achievement of a double aim: firstly, to determine the place of rebellion and civil war in De iure belli ac pacis, especially in relation to (external) war; and, secondly, to assess Grotius’s approach to the two former issues, particularly with regard to the criteria by which a distinction between rebellion and civil war can be drawn, and to the effects of this distinction.

A Prodigy Child of the Dutch Revolt: Immediate ‘Precursors’ to Grotius on Just Revolt (Raymond Kubben)

Abstract:

One of the odd things about Grotius’s thought is that he – advocate of a rebellious regime – was not very supportive of the right of resistance. Justifying the revolt at the time not only meant legitimizing the new regime he was serving; it also meant ruling out opposition against it. That posed an intricate puzzle; a puzzle Grotius solved by drawing on the theorizing on just revolt of the previous decades. This paper purports to show the connection between Grotius’s thought on just revolt and the intellectual and political environment in which Grotius came of age. It also sets out to show that the solution to the puzzle lies in the element of authority and the particular view taken on the constitutional position of the States in the Low Countries.

Hugo Grotius and the Classical Law of Civil War (Ville Kari)

Abstract:

This article explores the writings of Hugo Grotius on the law of civil war. First, the article takes a look at what Grotius wrote about the Dutch revolt, the civil war during which he himself lived and which he helped to legitimise. Second, the article notes how in legal practice the Dutch revolt also provided a valuable early precedent for the later scholars of the law of civil war, who were more concerned with questions of revolutionary prize jurisdiction and the problem of recognition. Third, the article explores the elements relating to these questions of civil war in Grotius’s volitional law of nations as presented in De iure belli ac pacis. These provided Grotius’s most enduring legacy for the later scholars on the law of civil war.

(read more with Brill)

BOOK: Gábor ÁGOSTON, The Last Muslim Conquest: The Ottoman Empire and Its Wars in Europe (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2021), 592 p. ISBN 9780691159324, USD 39,95

  

(image source: Princeton)

Abstract:

The Ottomans have long been viewed as despots who conquered through sheer military might, and whose dynasty was peripheral to those of Europe. The Last Muslim Conquest transforms our understanding of the Ottoman Empire, showing how Ottoman statecraft was far more pragmatic and sophisticated than previously acknowledged, and how the Ottoman dynasty was a crucial player in the power struggles of early modern Europe. In this panoramic and multifaceted book, Gábor Ágoston captures the grand sweep of Ottoman history, from the dynasty’s stunning rise to power at the turn of the fourteenth century to the Siege of Vienna in 1683, which brought an end to Ottoman incursions into central Europe. He discusses how the Ottoman wars of conquest gave rise to the imperial rivalry with the Habsburgs, and brings vividly to life the intrigues of sultans, kings, popes, and spies. Ágoston examines the subtler methods of Ottoman conquest, such as dynastic marriages and the incorporation of conquered peoples into the Ottoman administration, and argues that while the Ottoman Empire was shaped by Turkish, Iranian, and Islamic influences, it was also an integral part of Europe and was, in many ways, a European empire. Rich in narrative detail, The Last Muslim Conquest looks at Ottoman military capabilities, frontier management, law, diplomacy, and intelligence, offering new perspectives on the gradual shift in power between the Ottomans and their European rivals and reframing the old story of Ottoman decline.

On the author:

Gábor Ágoston is associate professor of history at Georgetown University. His many books include Guns for the Sultan: Military Power and the Weapons Industry in the Ottoman Empire and Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire. He lives in Alexandria, Virginia 

(source: Princeton) 

ENCYCLOPEDIC ARTICLE: Stanislas JEANNESSON & Eric SCHNAKENBOURG, "L’Europe et la régulation juridique des relations internationales" (Encyclopedie Labex EHNE)

(image source: EHNE)

Summary:

Dès la fin du XVe siècle, l’ouverture progressive des Européens sur le monde les conduit à s’interroger sur les formes de régulation de leur cohabitation dans les espaces ultramarins lointains. Par la suite, le processus de colonisation contraint les Européens à étendre, de façon progressive, au monde entier les principes et les pratiques d’un droit international forgé à l’origine pour les pays du Vieux Continent. L’élaboration d’un cadre juridique à l’échelle du monde accompagne ainsi l’expansion européenne, sur mer et sur terre, d’abord en Amérique puis en Asie et en Afrique. Le concept de souveraineté limitée permet notamment d’introduire une hiérarchie entre les États et de légitimer les conquêtes coloniales, tout en imposant une uniformisation des normes et des pratiques. Dès la fin du XIXe siècle, cependant, la mondialisation et la complexification du système international entraînent la remise en cause du modèle westphalien, pour mettre en avant d’autres traditions juridiques qui favorisent l’émergence d’un droit international « métissé ».

Read more on the EHNE site.

BOOK: Peter HILPOLD (ed.), European international law traditions (Heidelberg: Springer, 2020),

 

(image source: Springer)

Abstract:

International Law is usually considered, at least initially, to be a unitary legal order that is not subject to different national approaches. Ex definition it should be an order that transcends the national, and one that merges national perspectives into a higher understanding of law. It gains broad recognition precisely because it gives expression to a common consensus transcending national positions. The reality, however, is quite different. Individual countries’ approaches to International Law, and the meanings attached to different concepts, often diverge considerably. The result is a lack of comprehension that can ultimately lead to outright conflicts. In this book, several renowned international lawyers engage in an enquiry directed at sorting out how different European nations have contributed to the development of International Law, and how various national approaches to International Law differ. In doing so, their goal is to promote a better understanding of theory and practice in International Law.

Table of contents:

What Are and to What Avail Do We Study European International Law Traditions? (Peter Hilpold)

The Concept of International Law: The German Perspective (Christian Tomuschat)

The ‘Austrian School of International Law’: The Influence of Austrian International Lawyers on the Formation of the Present International Legal Order (Heribert Franz Koeck)

The Concept of International Law: The Italian Perspective (Carlo Focarelli)

The French Tradition of International Law (Andrea Hamann)

British Contributions to Public International Law (Michael Wood)

Exploring Belgian and Dutch “Traditions” in International Law (Jan Wouters & Nina Pineau)

International Law from a Nordic Perspective (Jacob V .H. Holtermann, Astrid Kjeldgaard-Pedersen)

The Russian Concept of International Law as Imperial Legacy (Lauri Mälksoo)

International Adjudication Under Particular Consideration of International Criminal Justice: The German Contribution (Stefanie Bock)

German and European Ordo-Liberalism and Constitutionalism in the Postwar Development of International Economic Law (Ernst-Ulrich Petersmann)

Read more on the SpringerLink site. 

PODCAST: House of Wisdom with Dr. Inge van Hulle

 

(Source: House of Wisdom)

The House of Wisdom Podcast has recently talked to Dr. Inge van Hulle about her new book “Britain and International Law in West Africa: The Practice of Empire”.

"Anthea Roberts asked the question how international is international law? When we look back at the development of international law within West Africa during the 19th century we realise there were many voices involved, not just Britain.  

In this episode, we talk to Dr. Inge Van Hulle about her new book - Britain and International Law in West Africa: The Practice of Empire. We discuss the influence ex colonial powers have had on the development of the international legal system, changing narratives about our perceptions of West Africa, and whether we need to rethink how we teach and research international law.   

Dr. Inge Van Hulle is Assistant Professor of Legal History at Tilburg University, The Netherlands. Prior to joining Tilburg University she worked as a PhD research assistant at the department of Roman law and legal history at KU Leuven where she obtained her PhD in 2016. Her area of expertise is International Legal Theory and International Legal History, in particular colonialism and West Africa."

(Source: Houseofwisdompodcast.co.uk)

(source: ESCLH Blog)

BOOK: Irene DINGEL, Michael ROHRSCHNEIDER, Inken SCHMIDT-VOGES, Siegrid WESTPHAL & Joachim WHALEY (eds.), Handbuch Frieden im Europa der Frühen Neuzeit/Peace in Early Modern Europe. A Handbook (Berlin: De Gruyter/Oldenbourg, 2020), 950 p. ISBN 978-3-11-059131-6, € 149,95

(image source: DeGruyter)

Book abstract:

The development of European peace processes is as characteristic of early modernity as the ubiquity of military conflict: over 2,000 international or domestic peace treaties were concluded in this era. This handbook presents the most recent findings of international research on political and societal peace orders, peace concepts and practices, along with the cultures of peace in the early modern period.

Table of contents:

Einführung (Irene Dingel, Michael Rohrschneider, Inken Schmidt-Voges, Siegrid Westphal, and Joachim Whaley) (open access)

Introduction (open access)

SEKTION I: FRIEDENSBEGRIFFE UND -IDEEN VISIONS AND IDEAS OF PEACE

1. Antike und mittelalterliche Grundlagen frühneuzeitlicher Friedensvorstellungen (Hermann Kamp)

2. Frieden: Renaissance – Humanismus – Reformation (Volker Leppin)

3. Frieden zwischen religiöser und säkularer Deutung, 1555–1700 (Friedrich Beiderbeck)

4. Frieden und Utopie (Thomas Schölderle)

5. Immanuel Kant und die Friedensvorstellungen im Denken der Aufklärung (Thomas Schölderle)

6. Peace and Law (Frederik Dhondt)

7. Ideas of Peace and Practice of Peacemaking in Pre-Modern South Asia (Murari Kumar Jha)

SEKTION II: FRIEDENSORDNUNGEN PEACE SYSTEMS

8. Landfrieden (Duncan Hardy)

9. Justizwesen (Anette Baumann)

10. Frieden als Leitbegriff und Handlungsfeld frühneuzeitlicher Policeyordnungen (Karl Härter)

11. Erbeinungen (Uwe Tresp)

12. Friedensräume. Burgfrieden, Kirchenfrieden, Gerichtsfrieden, Marktfrieden (Masaki Taguchi)

13. Hausfrieden. Eine doppelte Friedensordnung (Inken Schmidt-Voges)

14. Religionsfrieden (Irene Dingel)

15. Peacemaking in the Thirty Years War (Derek Croxton)

16. Waffenstillstand, Anstand und Stillstand (Gabriele Haug-Moritz)

17. Zwischenstaatlicher Frieden (Anuschka Tischer)

18. Friedensverträge (Martin Espenhorst)

19. Friedensschlüsse mit außereuropäischen Herrschern. Afrika, Mittelmeerraum, Osmanisches Reich (Benjamin Steiner)

20. Treaties in Asia (Peter Borschberg)

21. Peace Treaties Between Colonial Powers and Indigenous Peoples in North America (Katherine A. Hermes)

SEKTION III: FRIEDENSPRAKTIKEN UND ‑PROZESSE PEACEMAKING AND PEACE PROCESSES

22. Friedenskongresse (Johannes Burkhardt and Benjamin Durst)

23. Verhandlungstechniken und ‑praktiken (Maria-Elisabeth Brunert and Lena Oetzel)

24. Friedensvermittlung und Schiedsgerichtsbarkeit (Michael Rohrschneider)

25. Verhandlungssprachen und Übersetzungen (Guido Braun)

26. Akteur*innen der Friedensstiftung und ‑wahrung (Volker Arnke)

27. Historische Sicherheitsforschung und die Sicherheit des Friedens (Christoph Kampmann and Horst Carl)

28. Neutralität (Axel Gotthard)

29. Amnestie und Normaljahre (Ralf-Peter Fuchs)

30. Toleranz (Ulrich Niggemann)

31. Zeremoniell (Niels F. May)

32. Friedensfeiern und Gedächtniskultur (Renger E. de Bruin and Alexander Jordan)

33. Die materielle Kultur des Friedenschließens (Harriet Rudolph)

34. Frieden und Friedenssymboliken in der Bildenden Kunst (Eva-Bettina Krems)

35. Friedensmusiken (Sabine Ehrmann-Herfort)

36. Friedenspredigten (Henning P. Jürgens)

37. Frieden in der Literatur (Klaus Garber)

SEKTION V: FRÜHNEUZEITLICHE FRIEDENSSCHLÜSSE EARLY MODERN PEACE TREATIES

38. Der Kuttenberger Religionsfrieden 1485 (Alexandra Schäfer-Griebel)

39. Ewiger Landfrieden 1495 (Hendrik Baumbach)

40. Erster und Zweiter Kappeler Landfrieden 1529 & 1531 (Andreas Zecherle)

41. Augsburger Religionsfrieden 1555 (Armin Kohnle)

42. Der Frieden von Cateau-Cambrésis 1559 (Rainer Babel)

43. Warschauer Konföderation 1573 (Christopher Voigt-Goy)

44. The Edict of Nantes 1598 (Mark Greengrass)

45. Die Friedensschlüsse von Siebenbürgen: Wegmarken religiöser Toleranz oder der Konfessionalisierung? (Mihály Balázs)

46. Der Westfälische Frieden 1648 (Siegrid Westphal)

47. Nijmegen, Rijswijk, Utrecht: The Peace Treaties of the Wars of Louis XIV (Klaas Van Gelder)

48. Der Friede von Zsitvatorok 1606 und die Friedensschlüsse der ‚Türkenkriege‘ (Arno Strohmeyer)

49. Die Friedensschlüsse der Nordischen Kriege 1570–1814 (Dorothée Goetze)

50. Die Friedensschlüsse der friderizianischtheresianischen Ära (Regina Dauser)

51. Friedensschlüsse zwischen Französischer Revolution und Wiener Kongressordnung (Reinhard Stauber)

More information with DeGruyter.

ESIL IGHIL Online Symposium: JHIL Special Issue "Politics and the Histories of International Law" (18 DEC 2020)

(image: Le salon de Mme Geoffrin by Gabriel Lemonnier (1812); source: Wikimedia Commons)

The ESIL IGHL organizes an MS Teams-symposium on the JHIL Special Issue "Politics and the Histories of International Law" on 09:00 CET. The line-up is as follows:

Panel 1 (09:00-09:45)

• Florenz Volkaert (UGent-VUB/FWO) on Strength through Diversity? The Paradox of Extraterritoriality and the History of the Odd Ones Out (Madeleine Herren)
• Daniel Ricardo Quiroga Villamarin (Graduate Institute, Geneva) on Three Wartime Textbooks of International Law (Deborah Whitehall)
• Wouter De Rycke (VUB/FWO) on Theorising Order in the Shadow of War. The Politics of International Legal Knowledge and the Justification of Force in Modernity (Hendrik Simon)

Panel 2 (09:50-10:35)

• Rafael Zelesco Barretto (Naval War College of Brazil) on Histories Hidden in the Shadow: Vitoria and the International Ostracism of Francoist Spain (Julia Bühner)
• Filip Batselé (UGent-VUB/FWO) on A History of International Law in the Vernacular (Jacob Katz Cogan)
• Jaanika Erne (Tartu) on Turntablism in the History of IL (Jean d'Aspremont)

Conveners:

• Jan Lemnitzer (Southern Denmark)
• John Morrs (Deakin University)
• Markus Beham (Passau)
• Frederik Dhondt (VUB/UGent)
• Jaanika Erne (Tartu)

To attend, RSVP with esilighil@gmail.com. 

BOOK: Sigrid BOYSEN, Die postkoloniale Konstellation - Natürliche Ressourcen und das Völkerrecht der Moderne (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2020). ISBN 978-3-16-157564-8, 99.00 EUR

  

(Source: Mohr Siebeck)

Mohr Siebeck has published a new book on post-colonial international environmental law.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Die Begründung des internationalen Umweltrechts suchen die meisten in der Ortlosigkeit seines Gegenstands: Die ökologische Frage kann im Alleingang souveräner Staaten nicht bewältigt werden. Die etwa im Klimaschutzrecht evidenten regulatorischen Probleme lassen sich hiernach nur durch mehr Verrechtlichung und Konstitutionalisierung lösen. Doch das internationale Umweltrecht ist keineswegs ortlos, sondern hat eine sehr konkrete Geographie. Es ist keine Überwindung des Staatenvölkerrechts, sondern die Ausgestaltung der zentralen weltpolitischen Verschiebung im 20. Jahrhundert – der Auflösung des klassischen Imperialismus. Sigrid Boysen rekonstruiert die Begriffe und Institute des heutigen internationalen Umweltrechts genealogisch. Was einst dazu diente, die handelspolitischen Unsicherheiten nach Ablösung der kolonialen Herrschaft zu stabilisieren, teilt die Erde auch heute ein in industrialisierte Zonen und deren äußere Natur.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sigrid Boysen Geboren 1972; Studium der Rechtswissenschaft in Göttingen, Bristol und Hamburg; 2005 Promotion; 2018 Habilitation; seit 2014 Professorin für Öffentliches Recht, Völker- und Europarecht an der Helmut-Schmidt-Universität.

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2361-0162

 

More info here

(source: ESCLH Blog)

BOOK: Ntina TZOUVALA, Capitalism As Civilisation - A History of International Law (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2020). ISBN 9781108497183, USD 110.00

 

(Source: CUP)

Cambridge University Press is publishing “Capitalism As Civilisation - A History of International Law”.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Methodologically and theoretically innovative, this monograph draws from Marxism and deconstruction bringing together the textual and the material in our understanding of international law. Approaching 'civilisation' as an argumentative pattern related to the distribution of rights and duties amongst different communities, Tzouvala illustrates both its contradictory nature and its pro-capitalist bias. 'Civilisation' is shown to oscillate between two poles. On the one hand, a pervasive 'logic of improvement' anchors legal equality to demands that non-Western polities undertake extensive domestic reforms and embrace capitalist modernity. On the other, an insistent 'logic of improvement' constantly postpones and engages such a prospect based on ideas of immutable difference. By detailing the tension and synergies between these two logics, Tzouvala argues that international law incorporates and attempts to mediate the contradictions of capitalism as a global system of production and exchange that both homogenises and stratifies societies, populations and space.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ntina Tzouvala, University of Melbourne

Ntina Tzouvala is an ARC Laureate Postdoctoral Fellow at Melbourne Law School. Her research focuses on the political economy, the history, and the theory of international law.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. The standard of civilisation in international law: politics, theory, method

2. The standard of civilisation in the nineteenth century: between the 'logic of improvement' and the 'logic of biology'

3. The institutionalisation of civilisation in the interwar period

4. Arguing with borrowed concepts: 'The sacred trust of civilisation' in the South West Africa Saga

5. From Iraq to Syria: legal arguments for the civilising missions of the twenty-first century

6. Thinking through contradictions on a warming planet.

More info here

(source: ESCLH Blog)

ONLINE SERIES: Method, methodology and critique in international law (Asser Institute, 2020-2021)

 

(image source: Asser)

Description:

In recent decades, the field of international law has seen a multiplication of methodological approaches, a growing variation in methods and a critical reflection on central epistemological and stylistic registers. Changes in the course of the discipline have thereby often been fueled not by new substantive claims in existing (doctrinal, analytical or political) controversies, but through the emergence of different modes of seeing, thinking and writing. The aim of the new Asser lecture and workshop series is to explore various new ways of ‘doing’ international legal scholarship. This includes a focus on the opportunities, pitfall and politics of varying methodological approaches, their embedded epistemological, sociological or philosophical commitments as well as the particular technical crafts they demand. Researchers participating in the workshops will not only gain a better grasp of how to position themselves in an increasingly complex methodological landscape. They will also enhance their understanding of what is at stake in the various ‘turns’ that are continuously performed in international law (such as the ‘turn’ to practice, history, discourse, political economy, critical sociology, materiality, geography or aesthetics to name but a few).

Program:

Programme: 'Method, methodology and critique in international law' 16 December 2020 – 14.00. Introducing the Asser workshop series on method, methodology and critique in international law – Dimitri Van Den Meerssche and Wouter Werner 20 January 2021 – 11.00. Political economy – John Haskell and Ntina Tzouvala 17 February 2021 – 14.00. Historiography – Rose Parfitt and Nehal Bhuta 17 March 2021 – 14.00. Postcolonialism and critical race theory – Luis Eslava and Ayça Çubukçu 21 April 2021 – 14.00. Critical sociology and discourse analysis – Sara Dezalay and Antoine Vauchez 19 May 2021 – 14.00 STS and ANT – Marieke de Goede and Gavin Sullivan 9 June 2021 – 14.00. Legal anthropology and ethnography – Emma Nyhan and Matt Canfield 22 September 2021 – 14.00. Posthumanism and new materialism – Matilda Arvidsson and Sara Kendall 20 October 2021 – 14.00. Critical geography – Nik Rajkovic and Sofia Stolk 17 November 2021 – 14.00. Architecture, space & design – Renske Vos and Amin Parsa 15 December 2021 – 14.00. Aesthetics, affect & emotion – Emily Kidd White and Rebecca Sutton December 2021 (dates tbc) Concluding two-day workshop with keynote speaker Gerry Simpson 

Full program here. 

(source: Asser Institute)

BOOK: Indravati FÉLICITÉ (dir.), L’Identité du diplomate (Moyen Âge-xixe siècle) Métier ou noble loisir ? [Rencontres, vol. 471] (Paris: Classiques Garnier, 2020), 490 p. ISBN 978-2-406-10464-3, € 42

(image source: Classiques Garnier)

Abstract:

Entre le Moyen Âge et le xixe siècle, le diplomate européen est un personnage bien identifié, revêtu d’un caractère et agissant dans le cadre d’une scénographie particulière. Cet ouvrage propose une synthèse des connaissances actuelles sur le métier, la situation sociale et l’image du diplomate.

Chapters:

Introduction L’identité du diplomate, Moyen Âge – XIXe siècle. Métier ou noble loisir ? (Indravati Félicité)

Diplomate, huguenot ou humaniste ? Le modèle de l'agent français auprès des princes protestants de l'Empire (1589–1620) (Camille Desenclos)

Le ministre ou le plénipotentiaire est un caméléon (La Bruyère) Les multiples rôles des « ambassadeurs » à la cour de Louis XIV (Sven Externbrink)

Experience Instead of Professionalism The Brandenburg Legate Friedrich Rudolph of Canitz (1654-1699) Reflected in his Library (Anna Lingnau)

Du négoce en diplomatie Édouard Boyetet à la croisée des mondes marchands et diplomatiques (1772-1784) (Sylvain Lloret)

Les négociateurs français à Genève (1679-1798) Identités sociales composites et pluralité des parcours (Fabrice Brandli)

Des chemins divergents ? Diplomates français et allemands de la fin du XIXe siècle à la Première Guerre mondiale (Marion Aballéa)

Du noble ambassadeur au fonctionnaire public L'invention du « diplomate » sous la Révolution française (Virginie Martin)

Charles-Frédéric, comte Reinhard (1761-1837) Diplomate et homme de lettres (Ina Ulrike Paul)

Le caractère du diplomate idéal au XIXe siècle Constantes et évolutions (Yves Bruley)

“Il nome moscovita è arrivato infino a noi” The relationship between the diplomats of Philip V of Spain and those of Tsar Peter I (1717-1719)  (Núria Sallés Vilaseca)

Entre information et journalisme Les insertions pour la Gazette de France du Baron de La Houze, Ministre plénipotentiaire de la France à Parme (1766-1770) (Géraud Poumarède) 

L'interprète en diplomatie Expériences françaises au Siam dans la seconde partie du XIXe siècle (Laurence Badel)

­L’ambassadeur entre audiences et dépêches Statuts et usages de ­l’écrit et de ­l’oral dans les pratiques de négociation au XVIe siècle (Matthieu Gellard)

La correspondance diplomatique et la production de savoirs Une analyse des rapports des ambassadeurs français dans le Saint-Empire à la fin de la guerre de Trente Ans (Guido Braun)

Diplomatie impériale contre diplomatie française Bruxelles au carrefour des ­cultures et des pratiques, seconde moitié du XVIIIe siècle (Jean-Charles Speeckaert)

Quand se côtoyaient humanistes et hommes de métier (Elisabeth Malamut)

Une figure ­d’espion-diplomate ou les aventures de Reginald Teague-Jones au service de ­l’Empire britannique (Guillemette Crouzet)

Les nonciatures de Prospero SantaCroce Le savoir-faire diplomatique au service d’un parcours curial (Jean Sénié)

« [...] the Emp.r’s Envoy is as good as other Princes Amb.rs. » Diplomates impériaux et britanniques auprès des cours de Londres et de Vienne au début du XVIIIe siècle (Charlotte Backerra)

« Tout vient du Nord » ? Les diplomates russes et danois et la sociabilité parisienne sous l’œil de la police (1740-1747) (Dzianis Kandakou & Alexaner Stroev)

The French Royal Mistress as Diplomat (Christine Adams & Tracy Adams)

Négocier entre diplomates, nobles, spécialistes ou ministres ? Une prosopographie des négociateurs lors des rencontres internationales aux XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles (Niels F. May)

Principal ministre et diplomate ? Les principaux ministres allemands et leur activité diplomatique au XVIIIe siècle (Sébastien Schick)

« Le cul de sac du Nord » Séjour et carrière des diplomates français employés en Europe du Nord au tournant des XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles (Eric Schnakenbourg)

« Faut-il rester en diplomatie ? » Les facteurs ­d’attraction de la diplomatie à la fin du dix-neuvième siècle (Michael Auwers)

Pour dépasser le paradigme de la professionnalisation Réflexions sur la situation financière des diplomates au XVIIIe siècle (Indravati Félicité)

Conclusions (Stefano Andretta)

Read more with the Classiques Garnier. 

PODCAST: Les 75 ans de l'ONU (interview with Olivier CORTEN by Radio Campus (ULB))

 

(image source: Wikimedia Commons)

Description:

Fondée sur les ruines de la Société des Nations (SDN), l'Organisation des Nations Unies pose ses bases durant la seconde guerre mondiale. Avec une volonté affichée d'assurer la paix partout où c'est nécessaire, où en est l'ONU après 75 ans d'existence. Avec Olivier Corten, professeur de droit international à l'ULB.

Listen here. 

ONLINE SYMPOSIUM: JHIL Special Issue "Politics and the Histories of International Law" (Friday 18 DEC, 09:00-10:45, CET); DEADLINE 14 DEC 2020

(image: La lecture de Molière by François de Troy (1728); source: Wikimedia Commons)

On the occasion of the recent publication of the JHIL's special issue 'Politics and the Histories of International Law' the ESIL IGHIL will be organizing an online seminar on 18 December (09-10:45, CET) providing an appraisal of the individual articles and an overall discussion of the special issue's impact on the field. 

We are offering the opportunity to give a short presentation on one of the articles and its merits or potential issues to young researchers interested in the relationship between international law, legal history and modern politics. 

Scholars of any gender, nationality or disciplinary background are warmly invited to apply with an outline of their views on their chosen article and a short CV at esilighil@gmail.com by Monday 14 December 13:00 CET. The event itself will be streamed anline and open to all.

BOOK: Géraud POUMARÈDE, L’Empire de Venise et les Turcs. XVIe-XVIIe siècle [Histoire des Temps modernes; 7] (Paris: Classiques Garnier, 2020), 740 p. ISBN 978-2-406-10327-1

 

(image source: Classiques Garnier)

Book presentation:

Cet ouvrage analyse les relations vénéto-ottomanes depuis l’empire maritime de Venise. Ce dernier occupe une place centrale parmi les fondements symboliques de la puissance vénitienne ; il détermine les décisions, par lesquelles la classe dirigeante de la Sérénissime définit ses rapports avec la Porte.

 Read more with the Classiques Garnier.

BOOK: Christoph WAMPACH, Armed Reprisals from Medieval Times to 1945 [Studien zur Geschichte des Völkerrechts, 40] (Baden-Baden: Nomos Verlag, 2020), 336 p. ISBN 978-3-8487-7718-1, OPEN ACCESS

 

(image source: Nomos)

Book presentation:

Since the 19th Century, armed reprisals escaped the efforts of regulation, despite at that time being a burning issue in international law. Why was this? Beginning with the law of reprisals in Medieval Times and its progressive obsolescence in Modern Times, this study demonstrates that the great Powers made a privilege out of this employment of force in peacetime and kept it in a legal grey zone. This enabled them to resort to armed reprisals against small States without incurring the consequences of a formal war. The work also explains the legal scholars’ hesitant attitude to clarify these armed reprisals and shows why the League of Nations failed to solve the problem.

Download the book here.

CALL FOR PAPERS: Before the state. International law and politico-legal pluralism in Europe, 12th-17th century (Conferences of Rome (20 September 2021) and Lille/Kortrijk (18/19 May 2022); DEADLINE 31 JAN 2021)

L’ambition de ces deux rencontres est de contribuer à combler une lacune historiographique en nouant un dialogue entre les études historiques – où l’on observe depuis longtemps un regain d’intérêt pour l’étude des relations internationales et, en particulier, pour la diplomatie à la fin du Moyen Âge et au début de l’époque moderne – et les études relevant de l’histoire du droit, en particulier l’histoire de la pratique et de la doctrine médiévale du droit des gens.

L’État étant considéré comme l’acteur exclusif et même l’a priori de toute compréhension possible des relations internationales, on conçoit encore souvent le droit international comme le droit interétatique : du même coup, on exclut du champ d’investigation les relations entre pouvoirs politiques les plus divers. Or la constellation politique médiévale était caractérisée par une pluralité de centres de pouvoir au statut variable, où l’autorité politique était répartie à différents niveaux. Au lieu d’un lien univoque entre souveraineté et territoire, cette constellation révèle un entrelacement et un chevauchement complexe de différentes juridictions, fondées sur des liens de dépendance personnelle et sur des relations de sujétion territoriale. Loin de pouvoir être conçu comme un droit interétatique dominé par l’État national souverain, le droit international de la fin du Moyen Âge et du début de l’époque moderne devrait plutôt être considéré comme le cadre multi-normatif qui régit les relations entre une grande variété d’acteurs.

Sur cette question, nous organisons deux rencontres, la première à Rome le 20 septembre 2021 et la deuxième à Lille et Courtrai les 18-19 mai 2022. Notre but est d’aborder un vaste éventail de thèmes concernant le droit international, comme la guerre (ses conditions et son déroulement, soldats et mercenaires, droit de prise et de captivité, négociation et exécution des traités de paix), les représailles, la diplomatie (envoyés diplomatiques, traités d’alliance, ligues et adhaerentiae), les relations féodales (par exemple l’obligation du vassal de répondre à l’appel aux armes du seigneur), la relation entre juridiction et territoire (notion de frontière, statut des étrangers), le droit international privé, le droit de la mer (y compris le statut des pirates), les commerces et les relations avec les juifs et les « infidèles ».

En outre, trois thèmes transversaux feront l’objet d’une attention particulière. Il s’agit des acteurs du droit international (leur sélection, leur statut et la dynamique de leurs relations réciproques) ; des sources du droit international, étant donné que ce dernier ne constituait pas à l’époque prémoderne une branche autonome de la science juridique ; et de la résolution des conflits, en particulier à travers la médiation et l’arbitrage (deux institutions qui ont reçu moins d’attention dans l’historiographie par rapport à la négociation et la guerre).

L’organisation de deux rencontres et la contribution de chercheurs de différentes formations nous permettront de discuter cet ensemble de thèmes sur une période qui s’étend du XII^e au XVII^e siècle, en Europe occidentale et sans exclure les relations des acteurs européens avec l’Orient (Byzance, les Mongols, les Ottomans), le Maghreb et les terres « découvertes » au XV^e et au XVI^e siècle.

Du point de vue méthodologique, nous envisageons une étude aussi bien de la pratique que de la doctrine. Concernant la pratique, il faut comprendre quels étaient les mécanismes qui permettaient de gérer les relations entre des ordres politiques et juridiques différents. Concernant la doctrine, il s’agit d’étudier la manière de laquelle ce rôle fut joué surtout par le ius commune – produit de la science du droit romain, canonique et féodal – qui fournit aux juristes les concepts et les méthodes nécessaires pour gérer la multi-normativité et, en particulier, les relations entre des systèmes juridiques locaux (appelés iura propria).

Des communications s’inscrivant dans la thématique de ces deux colloques sont attendues. Les propositions, en anglais, en français ou en italien, doivent être adressées par courrier électronique à dante.fedele@univ-lille.fr, randall.lesaffer@kuleuven.be et savy_pierre@yahoo.fr. Elles doivent parvenir d’ici le 31 janvier 2021 et compter au moins 3000 caractères. Le résultat de la sélection sera communiqué avant le 28 février 2021. Une publication des actes soumise au contrôle des pairs est envisagée.

Les frais de transport et d’hébergement seront pris en charge par les institutions partenaires du projet.

 English description:

The purpose of these two conferences is to help fill a historiographical gap by establishing a dialogue between historical studies – which have attested a renewed interest in the study of international relations, and diplomacy in particular, in the late medieval and early modern period – and legal historical studies, in particular the history of the late medieval practice and doctrine of the law of nations.

Today, international law is still basically conceived of as interstate law: in fact, the state is considered as the primary actor – and even the a priori condition of any possible understanding – of international relations. This approach leads to exclude relations between non-statal political actors from the field of investigation. However, the medieval political constellation was characterised by a plurality of power centres of varying status and a distribution of political authority at different levels. Instead of a clear link between sovereignty and territory, this constellation reveals a complex interweaving and overlapping of jurisdictions of various kinds, which were grounded either in bonds of personal dependence or in relations of subjection within territorial domains. Far from being conceived of as interstate law dominated by the sovereign national state, late medieval and early modern international law should be regarded as the multi-normative framework which governed the relations between a wide variety of actors.

Two conferences on this issue will be organised in Rome and Lille/Kortrijk on 20 September 2021 and 18/19 May 2022. Our goal is to tackle a wide range of themes relating to international law, such as war (its conditions and conduct, soldiers and mercenaries, the law of booty and captivity, the negotiation and execution of peace treaties), reprisals, diplomacy (diplomatic envoys, alliance treaties, leagues and adhaerentiae), feudal relations (for example the obligation of vassals to respond to their lord’s call to arms), the relationship between territory and jurisdiction (the notion of border, the status of foreigners), conflicts of laws and jurisdiction, the law of the sea (including the status of pirates), trade and relations with Jews and so-called infidels.

Additionally, three cross-cutting themes will receive special attention. These are the actors of international law (their selection, their status and the dynamics of their reciprocal relations); the sources of international law, which in premodern times was not an autonomous branch of legal scholarship; and the resolution of conflicts, in particular through mediation and arbitration (two institutions which have attracted less interest in historiography, compared to negotiation and war).

The organisation of two conferences and the contributions from scholars of different backgrounds will allow us to discuss these issues over a period stretching from the 12^th to the 17^th century in Western Europe, including the relations of European actors to the East (Byzantium, the Mongols, the Ottomans), the Maghreb and the lands “discovered” in the 15^th and 16^th centuries.

From a methodological point of view, both practice and legal scholarship will be considered. Regarding the former, we aim to understand what mechanisms made it possible to manage the relations between various political and legal orders. Concerning legal scholarship, our purpose is to study how this role was played especially by the ius commune (a product of the science of Roman, canon and feudal law), which provided jurists with the necessary notions and methods to manage multi-normativity and, in particular, the relations between local legal systems (the iura propria).

We kindly invite scholars to present their new research on the theme of these conferences. All applications must be sent by 31 January to dante.fedele@univ-lille.fr, randall.lesaffer@kuleuven.be and savy_pierre@yahoo.fr with a proposal of at least 3,000 characters. The results will be communicated by 28 February 2021. The proceedings will appear in a peer-reviewed publication.

  Transportation and accommodation costs will be covered by the organising institutions.

Partner institutions

Centre d’histoire judiciaire (UMR 8025) – Université de Lille (Dante Fedele)

École française de Rome (Pierre Savy)

KU Leuven, Department of Roman Law and Legal History (Randall Lesaffer)

BOOK: Jorge E. VINUALES, ed., The UN Friendly Relations Declaration at 50 An Assessment of the Fundamental Principles of International Law (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2020). ISBN 9781108483810, $ 210.00

 

(Source: CUP)

Cambridge University Press is publishing a book on 50 years of the UN Friendly Relations Act.

ABOUT THE BOOK

The year 2020 marks the 75th anniversary of the United Nations Organisation, and the 50th anniversary of the United Nations Friendly Relations Declaration, which states the fundamental principles of the international legal order. In commemoration, some of the world's most prominent international law scholars from all continents have come together to offer a comprehensive study of the fundamental principles of international law. Each chapter in this volume reflects decades of experience, work and reflection by the most authoritative voices of the field. At the same time, the book is an invitation to end narrow specialisation and re-engage with the wider body of rules and processes that lie at the foundations of the international legal order.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jorge E. Viñuales, University of Cambridge

Jorge E. Viñuales holds the Harold Samuel Chair at the University of Cambridge and is a Fellow of the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law and of Clare College. He is also a Member (Associé) of the Institut de Droit International. At Cambridge, he founded and directed the Cambridge Centre for Environment, Energy and Natural Resource Governance (C-EENRG). Professor Viñuales has published many studies on international law, and he has wide experience as counsel, expert and adjudicator.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Foreword Georges Abi-Saab
1. Introduction: the fundamental principles of international law – an enduring ideal? Jorge E. Viñuales
2. The historical origins and setting of the Friendly Relations Declaration Samuel Moyn and Umut Özsu
Part I. The Principles of the Friendly Relations Declaration:
3. The prohibition of the use of force Olivier Corten
4. Peaceful settlement of international disputes Shotaro Hamamoto
5. The duty not to intervene in matters within domestic jurisdiction Dire Tladi
6. Co-operation Laurence Boisson de Chazournes and Jason Rudall
7. Self-determination Marcelo G. Kohen
8. Sovereign equality Martti Koskenniemi and Ville Kari
9. Good faith Guillaume Futhazar and Anne Peters
Part II. Fundamental Principles of International Law Beyond the Friendly Relations Declaration:
10. Human rights protection as a principle Eibe Riedel
11. The fundamental principles of international humanitarian law Jia Bing Bing
12. Prevention of environmental harm Leslie-Anne Duvic-Paoli and Jorge E. Viñuales
13. Freedoms in common areas Tullio Treves
14. Principles governing the global economy Jürgen Kurtz, Jorge E. Viñuales and Michael Waibel
15. The Friendly Relations Declaration at 50 Pierre-Marie Dupuy.

More info here

(source: ESCLH Blog)