The Young Scholars Workshop on International Law is a periodic initiative taking place in Italy since 2003. It is aimed at providing a critical discussion forum in which early career academics, doctoral students, and young legal professionals are encouraged to present their research on specific topics of international law.
The XI edition of the Workshop will address the decolonization of Africa, a phenomenon that has been praised (including by several African States) as a success story of the United Nations. Nevertheless, recent phenomena of relevance for international law may cast shadows over this suggestion, especially if the decolonization process is considered from a broader economic, cultural and institutional perspective. More than half a century from the adoption of the fundamental General Assembly resolutions on self-determination and on the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the OAU, the Workshop intends to address a fundamental research question: Has formal independence released African States from patterns of dominance by former colonial powers, other States, and transnational corporations?
