Shahab Saqib, University of Birmingham, United Kingdom; E.H. (Elke) Olthuis, Universiteit van Amsterdam, Netherlands; Gabriele Wadlig, Dresden University of Technology, Germany
CRITICAL PUBLIC (INTERNATIONAL) LAW
Public Law was, for many generations, a colonial enterprise that emerged from a Eurocentric model of Empire but expanded through the post-colonial model of nation-states.
Given its history and evolution, it was inevitably attached to creating and sustaining racial and capitalistic hierarchies of power that were rooted in inequality, exploitation, and deprivation. Its expansion into International Law, as David Harris noted, was also no more than an epistemic evolution of the “public law of Europe”. In light of these facts, this stream (interest group) aims to bring together scholars who are interested in engaging with critical perspectives on Public (International) Law. With the broad scope of its approach, this stream (interest group) challenges the essentialisation of discourses in public law and their universalisation through international law. It centres the issues of law on race, colonialism, historical context, empire, gender, poverty, class, third world, refugees, borders etc. to deconstruct and illuminate the alternatives that public law obfuscates. It aims to develop a nuanced understanding of Public (international) Law that may not be possible other than by examining it through a critical lens.
Convenors
Upcoming chapter events, projects, and activities
Over the next three years (2026-2029), anticipated Interest Group activities include:
- a virtual forum to workshop work-in-progress papers on critical approaches to public and international law.
- disseminating or developing repositories of teaching resources for critically engaged modules on public or international law.
- a hybrid workshop culminating in an edited volume/blog symposium on shared themes.
