Theilen, Hassfurther, & Staff: Towards Utopia – Rethinking International Law

Jens Theilen (Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel - Walther-Schücking-Institut für Internationales Recht), Isabelle Hassfurther (Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel - Walther-Schücking-Institut für Internationales Recht), & Wiebke Staff (Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel - Walther-Schücking-Institut für Internationales Recht) have posted Towards Utopia – Rethinking International Law (German Yearbook of International Law, forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

In the face of recent challenges to international law and its institutions, a sense of despair and resignation pervades some parts of international legal scholarship – a mindset which may work to close off the ability to think, feel, and imagine alternatives. As a counterpoint to such despair, this paper explores the potential of utopianism as a framework for rethinking international law which provides grounds for hope. Building on the articles contained in the Special Section "Towards Utopia – Rethinking International Law" which it introduces, the paper discusses three topoi of utopianism in relation to international law: first, the diversity of utopian approaches, ranging from grand blueprints to everyday utopias; second, the relation of utopianism to critique, and specifically to critical approaches to international law; and third, the complicated role of international law in relation to social change.