New Histories of International Law

In this colloquium, we will explore the flourishing 21st century literature in the history of international law. Focussing on the complex and controversial relationship between law, empire & capitalism, readings will center on the period 1750-1950, and skew towards Europe, the Middle East, East Asia and Africa. The works we will study, however, also concern the uses and significance of historical perspective for the theory and practice of international law and politics today. They will enable us to reflect historically on the present, asking why it was that the period 2000-2020 produced such a strong interest in ‘critical’ histories of international law, concerned with the legacies of empire and colonialism; and wondering how the field might react to the increasingly ‘lawless’ world of the 2020s.