Call
for Expression of Interest
ESIL
Interest Group on the History of International Law
Agora
Panel Proposal for the ESIL Annual Conference 2025
(De-/re-)constructions of International Law over
Time and Space
Berlin,
10 to 13 September 2025
Submission
deadline: 15 January 2025
The ESIL Interest Group on the History of International Law is
preparing an Agora panel proposal on ‘(De-/re-)constructions of
International Law over Time and Space’ for the 2025 ESIL Annual Conference
“Reconstructing International Law” in Berlin, Germany. The outcome of the Agora
proposal is uncertain, but the panel speakers will be invited to present at the
interest group pre-conference workshop, if the Agora proposal is not selected
by the conference organizers.
Themes
This Agora aims to better understand the theme of ‘reconstructing
international law’ from a historical perspective: (1) What have been the causes
and reasons for (re-)constructions of international law in its history? (2) How
has international law fared after past major systemic crises? (3) What can we
learn from institutional and normative projects of (re-)constructing ‘new’
international law in the past?
Until modern times, international relations were determined by the
good will of the sovereign and force played the dominant role in these
relations. There has been no agreed definition as to when ‘international law’
exactly began, but it is generally agreed that (de-/re-)construction has been a
common theme in the history of international law at various moments in time, with
the Westphalian Peace of 1648 being marked as one of the most famous watershed
moments. The subsequent transition from European public law to international
law through colonial expansion was another important moment of territorial
‘reconstruction.’ Conversely, one might inquire about the extent to which
decolonization and the admission of newly independent states has led to the
‘reconstruction’ of Eurocentric international law in the 20th
century.
At the same time, reconstruction can be approached from an
institutional perspective or through the historical expansion of the actors or
sources of international law. One could also explore the (de-/re-) construction
of international law through the rise and fall of its individual sub-disciplines
or by looking at reconstruction within and across sub-disciplines. Apart from successful
(de-/re-) construction, the failed attempts of various actors to (de-/re-)construct
international law could provide important lessons about reform. In addition to
the restructuring of international law in the history, we are also interested
in papers discussing the restructuring of ‘the history of international law’ as
a discipline, its theories, and methodologies.
The IG particularly encourages interdisciplinary research engaging
with historical methods, such as the use of archives and other historical
sources. Perspectives from underrepresented regions and critical scholars are
particularly welcomed.
Submission procedure
Members of the HIL IG and other ESIL Members working on related
topics are invited to express their interest in participating by sending to lamsh@vuw.leidenuniv.nl
prior to the deadline the following documents:
-
An Abstract of no more than 400
words
-
Your curriculum vitae
-
Your short biography,
indicating whether you are an ESIL member and whether you are applying for the
ESIL Early-Career Scholar Prize
Timeline
The deadline for expressing interest in the Agora panel proposal is 15
January 2025. We expect to inform successful applicants before 31
January 2025 if they will be part of the Proposal.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact Ocean: lamsh@vuw.leidenuniv.nl.
Please note that the Interest Group is prioritizing those who could
present their papers in person. However, the Interest Group is
unable to provide funding for travel and accommodation. Selected speakers will
be expected to bear the costs of their own travel and accommodation. Some ESIL
travel grants and ESIL carers’ grants will be available to offer partial financial
support to speakers who have exhausted other potential funding sources.
Please see the ESIL website
for all relevant information about the conference.
Conveners
Anastasia
Hammerschmied – Florenz Volkaert - Jaanika Erne – Sze Hong Lam (Ocean)
