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International law as a discipline in crisis

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Bibliographic Details
Title: International law as a discipline in crisis
Authors: Tzouvala, Ntina
Source: Australian Journal of International Affairs. 79:71-78
Publisher Information: Informa UK Limited, 2025.
Publication Year: 2025
Subject Terms: 16 Peace, anzsrc-for: 44 Human Society, 4407 Policy and Administration, 4408 Political Science, anzsrc-for: 1605 Policy and Administration, anzsrc-for: 4407 Policy and Administration, Justice and Strong Institutions, anzsrc-for: 1606 Political Science, 44 Human Society, anzsrc-for: 4408 Political Science
Description: One of the most influential international law articles of the past 20 years is entitled ‘International Law: A Discipline of Crisis’. Authored by Hilary Charlesworth in the aftermath of the NATO intervention in Kosovo, the article articulated a compelling feminist critique of the politics, aesthetics and implications of the discipline’s over-emphasis on crises. I revisit Charlesworth’s article with an eye on the field’s profound divisions regarding Israel’s war on Gaza. Charlesworth’s critique correctly assumed a degree of disciplinary convergence when it came to the identification of crises, even as opinions about the right response diverged. This background consensus has disintegrated in light of the field’s divergent attitudes towards the war on Gaza. As different sections of the discipline adopt diametrically opposed positions regarding the severity of the facts on the ground and their importance for international law as a field of practice and study, international law moves from being a discipline of crisis into being a discipline in crisis.
Document Type: Article
File Description: application/pdf
Language: English
ISSN: 1465-332X
1035-7718
DOI: 10.1080/10357718.2024.2416253
Rights: CC BY NC ND
Accession Number: edsair.doi.dedup.....a8d2ef21de9e2d7d3290529cdac6aecf
Database: OpenAIRE
Description
Abstract:One of the most influential international law articles of the past 20 years is entitled ‘International Law: A Discipline of Crisis’. Authored by Hilary Charlesworth in the aftermath of the NATO intervention in Kosovo, the article articulated a compelling feminist critique of the politics, aesthetics and implications of the discipline’s over-emphasis on crises. I revisit Charlesworth’s article with an eye on the field’s profound divisions regarding Israel’s war on Gaza. Charlesworth’s critique correctly assumed a degree of disciplinary convergence when it came to the identification of crises, even as opinions about the right response diverged. This background consensus has disintegrated in light of the field’s divergent attitudes towards the war on Gaza. As different sections of the discipline adopt diametrically opposed positions regarding the severity of the facts on the ground and their importance for international law as a field of practice and study, international law moves from being a discipline of crisis into being a discipline in crisis.
ISSN:1465332X
10357718
DOI:10.1080/10357718.2024.2416253