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39211. An International Lawyer in Democracy and Dictatorship – Re-Introducing Herbert Kraus

Author:
Heiko Meiertöns
Publication Date:
02-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Abstract:
Herbert Kraus (1884–1965) is among the forgotten international lawyers of the 20th century. Kraus took part in a number of developments of great importance for the shaping of modern international law: he participated in the drafting process of the Versailles Peace Treaty and the Treaty on the European Coal and Steel Community and acted as defence counsel at Nuremberg. The founding director of the Institute for International Law at the University of Göttingen was forced to retire between 1937 and 1945 due to his criticism of National Socialism. The post-war perception of his work was coined by his forced retirement. However, his work between 1933 and 1937 sheds light on the dilemma of choosing between opposition and adjustment that Kraus was faced with during that period. This article re-introduces Kraus – a complex German character of international law – and the main features of his work.
Topic:
International Law
Political Geography:
New York

39212. Towards a Global History of International Law? Editor's Note

Author:
Alexandra Kemmerer
Publication Date:
02-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Abstract:
As usual, international law comes in late. It was already in the golden years of new world orders and geopolitical shifts after the end of the Cold War that historiography began its global turn. Of course, there had been pioneers and path-breakers before, but it was only in the 1990s that an ambiance of globalization and trans-nationalization triggered new approaches on a larger scale. An actual experience of political, economic and cultural interconnectedness put historiographical emphasis on transfers, networks, connections and cooperation, on transformation and translation.Historical analysis was called to overcome not only the boundaries of the nation-state, but also the limitations of material and epistemic Eurocentrism in its various forms. During the past decade, there has been a growing interest in global histories in many parts of the world.
Topic:
International Law
Political Geography:
Africa and Europe

39213. The Spectre of Sources

Author:
Rose Parfitt
Publication Date:
02-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Abstract:
The editors of this impressive and timely volume, Anne Peters and Bardo Fassbender, begin their Introduction (at 2) with the following statement of purpose: [W]e, the editors and authors, [have] tried to depart from ... the 'well-worn paths' of how the history of international law has been written so far — that is, as a history of rules developed in the European state system since the 16th century which then spread to other continents and eventually the entire globe.
Topic:
International Law
Political Geography:
Europe

39214. Sleepy Side Alleys, Dead Ends, and the Perpetuation of Eurocentrism

Author:
Stefan B. Kirmse
Publication Date:
02-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Abstract:
My reading of The Oxford Handbook of the History of International Law, edited by Bardo Fassbender and Anne Peters, has undoubtedly been framed by my own field of research. This field is not international law, but the historical anthropology of Russia and Eurasia and includes changing legal practice in a context of increasing global connectedness. My review is therefore not intended to relate the Oxford Handbook to the wider historiography of international law, which I leave to other contributions in this symposium; it is meant to offer an external perspective on the question of Eurocentric analysis. The editors of the Handbook have identified Eurocentrism as one of the key challenges to overcome in the study of international law.
Topic:
International Law
Political Geography:
Russia and Persia

39215. Is there a Role for Islamic International Law in the History of International Law?

Author:
Nahed Samour
Publication Date:
02-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Abstract:
Overcoming Eurocentrism is one of the self-proclaimed aims of the editors of The Oxford Handbook of the History of International Law. In the following, I shall offer a critique of the Handbook from a largely Islamic international law perspective as (but) one example of a supranational non-European legal system. The depth of the volume covering a variety of times, spaces, and themes provides us with a much awaited tool against the 'gaps' and the 'forgetfulness' of how today's doctrines and practices of international law came about, not shying away from the voices that question the narrative of international law serving peace and justice. The Handbook is therefore laudable for a number of things.
Topic:
International Law and Islam
Political Geography:
Europe

39216. Statelessness: An Invisible Theme in the History of International Law

Author:
Will Hanley
Publication Date:
02-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Abstract:
The Oxford Handbook is a welcome and necessary intervention in the history of international law. In the introduction, the editors signal their reformist programme: out with the progressive, triumphalist narrative; in with the dark side of international law and its side tracks outside the European experience. In addition to this programme, the project displays two further signs of its serious intent to change the field. First, the authors embarked on a truly collective project, including a week of face-to-face consultation, in a rare effort to define a reasonably unified agenda. Scholarly redirection is a social as well as an intellectual undertaking, and the community built around this volume marks its purposefulness. Secondly, the book's scope is massive: more than five dozen chapters, more than three dozen authors, and more than 1,000 pages of text provide the bulk necessary to accomplish the paradigm shift that the editors intend. The extensive range of the book, especially in its 'Regions' section, does what is necessary to transform globalizing intent into actuality. It is a foundational volume, and any scholarly edifice building upon it will have a broader footprint than was previously possible.
Topic:
International Law
Political Geography:
Europe

39217. Overcoming Eurocentrism? Global History and the Oxford Handbook of the History of International Law

Author:
Anne-Charlotte Martineau
Publication Date:
02-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Abstract:
Last Spring, the Rechtskulturen programme, an initiative of the Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin at the Transregionale Studien Forum, invited me to participate in a symposium on the Oxford Handbook of the History of International Law – a robust book of 1250 pages. I was asked to 'critically assess' the Handbook's 'global history' approach, that is, to assess whether it was a successful step in 'overcoming Eurocentrism' in the history of international law. The symposium turned out to be a wonderful event, a gathering of historians, anthropologists, political scientists, and lawyers, where I became very conscious of my own professional language but where I also experienced a willingnesss to transcend disciplinary boundaries and biases. The following remarks should be interpreted as a continuation of that discussion. Before looking at some of the contributions in the Handbook that did depart from 'well-worn paths' (to use the editors' expression) (3), I would like to say few words about the 'global history' approach (1) and the unfortunate resilience of Eurocentric voices in the Handbook (2).
Topic:
International Law
Political Geography:
Europe

39218. Prospects and Limits of a Global History of International Law: A Brief Rejoinder

Author:
Anne Peters and Bardo Fassbender
Publication Date:
02-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Abstract:
As we remarked in the Introduction to our Handbook, it is exciting but also risky to leave a well-worn path (at 2). It means meeting unforeseen obstacles. We were quite aware of the fact that if we wanted to shed light on historical developments in international law which so far had remained in darkness or obscurity, we had to be prepared to encounter the unexpected and not so readily understood – that is, accounts and narratives which call into question conventional wisdom and which, at least initially, pose additional problems rather than providing easy answers. We knew that new research on issues which had rarely been examined before would not be perfect or 'complete'. In other words, we expected, and in fact expressly invited, criticism of a work which tried to break new ground.
Topic:
International Law
Political Geography:
Europe

39219. Michael B. Gerrard and Gregory E. Wannier (eds). Threatened Island Nations. Legal Implications of Rising Seas and a Changing Climate

Author:
Susannah Wilcox
Publication Date:
02-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Abstract:
There is growing evidence that climate change-related impacts like rising sea levels, higher storm surges, and changing rainfall patterns are exacerbating existing vulnerabilities like poverty, isolation, and resource scarcity, and may eventually leave small island states uninhabitable, causing the displacement of entire populations. Among those particularly at risk are low-lying coral atoll states like Kiribati, Tuvalu, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean, and the Republic of the Maldives in the Indian Ocean.
Topic:
Poverty
Political Geography:
Europe, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Tuvalu, and Maldives

39220. Michael Byers. International Law and the Arctic

Author:
Timo Kolvurova
Publication Date:
02-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Abstract:
Those who follow the newspapers and media in general are led to believe that the stakes are getting higher in the Arctic. Climate change is melting the sea ice and opening up new economic opportunities: oil, gas, moving fish stocks, and shorter navigational routes are among the benefits to be had by those who are bold enough to make a move. According to the media, China and other emerging economies are claiming their own piece of the Arctic. In the scramble among states for the riches of the Arctic, we sense a scenario that may even drive states to the point of military conflict. Yet, this scramble does not take place in a legal vacuum – there are plenty of legal rules that govern the behaviour of states and other actors in the region. Indeed, this is one of the salient points that Michael Byers makes in his book.
Topic:
Environment, International Law, and Oil
Political Geography:
China