Call for Papers: The Authoritarian Pushback and the Resilience of International Institutions

The Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law has issued a call for papers for a panel on “The Authoritarian Pushback and the Resilience of International Institutions” at the ICON Society Annual Conference in Hong Kong. Here's the call:

Call for Papers

The Authoritarian Pushback and the Resilience
of International Institutions

Panel at ICON Society Annual Conference
25-27 June 2018, Hong Kong

The Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law invites the submission of proposals for a panel entitled “The Authoritarian Pushback and the Resilience of International Institutions” at the upcoming ICON Society annual conference in Hong Kong. More than a decade after the emergence of public law approaches to international institutions, such as Global Administrative Law (GAL), Global Constitutionalism, or International Public Authority (IPA), the international system has changed dramatically. The Trump presidency and the British Brexit vote are among the most visible examples of a growing trend against global governance and international decision-making as it currently stands. What had once been taken for granted in scholarship as well as in practice – the expansion of international law, the proliferation of institutional institutions, and universal standards of democracy and human rights – is now being challenged on several fronts. All around the globe we observe governments stressing their respective national interest and deciding to opt out of, or terminate, international cooperation mechanisms. The backlash against global governance is in full swing: From withdrawals from the Rome Statute, the Paris Agreement or the TPP, to the non-execution of judgments of international courts. At the same time, most international institutions continue to carry on, sometimes under increasing financial and political constraints. Lastly, new arrangements like the Belt and Road Initiative have emerged, raising questions of whether they contribute to, or rather sideline international regimes already in place.

The panel will address several research questions that emerge from this situation:

• How does the authoritarian, nationalist pushback change international institutions, including international courts, and how do these changes affect their problem-solving capacity?
• How does the authoritarian, nationalist pushback affect the legitimacy of international institutions, including international courts?
• How resilient are international institutions, including international courts, against the authoritarian, nationalist pushback, and which strategies do they adopt?

Scholars of all levels are invited to submit proposals of up to 500 words until 20 January 2018 to ipa2018@mpil.de. Successful applicants will receive financial support for their travel expenses of up to 1000,- euros.

Contact: Matthias Goldmann (goldmann@mpil.de), Silvia Steini