Most Interesting 2020: Tzouvala, Capitalism as Civilisation: A History of International Law

The eighth in our series "Most Interesting 2020":

Ntina Tzouvala, Capitalism as Civilisation: A History of International Law (Cambridge Univ. Press 2020)

This book is a true tour de force. It shows Tzouvala's admirable breadth of knowledge and sharpness of critical reflection. Tzouvala masterfully combines her fluency in cogent theoretical and critical thinking, with detailed technical understanding of ins and outs of law, and, additionally, with careful parsing of a wealth of historical materials.

This book is not only an important contribution to the critical tradition in international law, but, more importantly, to the theorizing of international law and our understanding of international law as a discipline in a historical context, more broadly. It bridges not only Marxist and TWAIL approaches, but also mainstream theorizing of international law. Her theoretical work is not, however, idealist or abstract but it is carried out through a careful and detailed historically materialist approach which is always attuned to the structures and mechanism of oppression and exploitation. This book productively updates the common disciplinary understanding of indeterminacy of international law in showing its deep links with global capitalism and imperialism. This gives the work an immense explanatory edge. Finally, Capitalism as Civilisation shows a possibility, and usefulness, of a Marxist approach to international law that does not fall prey to rigid structuralist or determinist assumptions and explanations.

The book deserves to be right up next to the other great defining works of international law of the last few decades.

Josef Ostřanský
Max Weber Fellow
European University Institute