Colloquies
KEYWORDS
COLLOQUY
Forced and Forged Bridges of International Law
International Law
Three tales about the double-edged role of international law as it was being negotiated and shaped – between a gateway to asserting sovereign rights and an instrument for consolidating structures of asymmetry
The María Luz Case: International Emergence of Japanese Legal Identity
At a time of political unrest and legal restructuring, Japan first entered the stage of international dispute resolution with the María Luz case, proving its mastery of the rule of law in the face of supposed Western superiority.
Western International Law in 19th Century Chosŏn: Forced or on Initiative?
Belated and fraught engagement with Western international law in Chosŏn (Korea) underscored the challenges faced by small nations in asserting their sovereignty amid imperial pressures and shifting global norms.
The Tehran School and International Law in Early 20th Century Iran
More than just a training ground for diplomats, the Tehran School of Political Science sparked a new era of legal thought and political reform in Iran, shaping the country’s legal system and global standing in a rapidly changing world.
Comment: International Law in Three Histories
The spread of Euro-American “law among nations” was not just imposed; it also reflected internal demands in many countries, even if they came in the context of unequal treaties, the threat of war, or existential dread.
COLLOQUY
Unseen Agencies of Transformation
Legal Orders Under Pressure
An exploration of how non-Western societies engaged with legal modernity in the 19th and early 20th centuries – not as passive recipients of European norms, but as active participants negotiating legal change on their own terms
Intro: Legal Reforms as Reorganisation of Order
Economic rationality, moral imagination, and institutional experimentation emerged in various forms throughout the non-Western world, often well before or independently of direct colonial rule or Western intervention.
Merchants, Local Elites, and New Commercial Litigation in the Ottoman Balkans
A fresh look at how the first commercial courts were established in the 1840s-50s reframes Tanzimat-era judicial reforms as evolving practices shaped by provincial actors, challenging narratives of centrally mandated Westernization.
Siam’s Tectonic Legal Reform Process
Two key aspects are at the heart of this analysis of legal transformation in Siam in the late 19th and early 20th centuries: the “elastic” nature of Siam’s traditional law and the role of lawyers in shaping legal change.
European Imperialism and Legal Transformation in 20th Century Ethiopia
Encountering informal legal imperialism, Ethiopia sought to evade informal colonisation, and strategically appropriated and redeployed imported legal ideas and institutions.