This course examines how geopolitical themes and concepts (such as territory, resources, and location) relate to international law. It explores how geographical assumptions, concerns, and designations shape and are shaped by international legal forms, thought, and practice. By drawing on insights from geopolitics, as well as perspectives such as global history, Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL), and Law and Political Economy (LPE), the course sheds light on crucial questions about the operation of international law. For example, it asks how we should understand the prevalent idea that we are in a period of significant geopolitical change, and what role international law and lawyers play in shaping and responding to this shift.
The course is structured into seven sessions, each focusing on a distinct subject at the intersection of international law, global politics, and geographic space. These subjects include the history of self-determination, spatial ordering and regionalism, hegemony and counter-hegemony during the Cold War, and the influence of geopolitical contests on specific instances of international law-making. Having spent some time thinking about history, the later sessions shift focus to pressing issues, such as the importance of political geography in understanding global governance today and the potential impact of rising powers, including the BRICS states, on the future of international law.
To ensure a broad analysis, the course includes readings from leading scholars representing diverse geographical and theoretical approaches.
- Enseignant: Francisco Jose Quintana
- Enseignant: Weitong Shan