Call for Papers ‘Rethinking and Renewing the Study of International Law in/from/about Latin America”: September 26-28, 2017

On the occasion of the new book “Imperialismo y Derecho Internacional: Historia y Legado” and the visit of its authors Antony Anghie, Martti Koskenniemi and Anne Orford, the universities Externado, Rosario and Los Andes as well as the History Section of the Latin American Society of International Law, the Network on Rethinking International Law Teaching in Latin América (REDIAL) and the Red de Aproximaciones Postcoloniales al Derecho Internacional have joined in a collaborative effort to convene a three day symposium on “Rethinking and Renewing the Study of International Law in/from/about/ Latin America”. The event looks to address three main topics of concern: 1) the colonial/postcolonial heritage and structures of international law in the region 2) the revised or untold histories and historiography of Latin America ́s international law 3) the past, present and future of teaching international law in the region and its relation to both its colonial/post-or neo colonial dimensions as well as its history and historiography.

The aim of this collaborative effort is to revise the developments within these fields, to engage in critical reflection and discuss the need for future research, as well as to publish the best papers presented at the symposiums. We anticipate rich discussions that will bring up old debates and present new ones. Some general questions that we are interested in: Is there a “Latin America” in international law today? What did “Latin America” mean in international legal histories in the past? Is a regionalist perspective still an effective way to examine our past, present and future in relation to international law and global governance? How should scholars re-engage with the regions colonial past and neo-colonial present? What histories are told about the region ́s role and how should they be re-examined? In what ways are we teaching international law today and how do our pedagogy re- inforce blindspots and bad legacies? How should we teach international law from Latin America today?

Tuesday, Sept 26: Session I
Colonialism/Post-Neocolonialism and International Law in/from/ Latin America 

The first day will focus on exploring, challenging, debating, expanding the topics presented in the book “Imperialismo y Derecho Internacional: Historia y Legado”. Papers presented can be derived from topics discussed in the book such as: restrictive and expansive views of imperialism; imperialisms within the region; Latin American perspectives and its relation (or not) to the Third World and imperialism; the 19th century creation of a Latin America in face of U.S. imperialism; the School of Salamanca in Latin America; the empire of Private Law in Latin America; Indigenous peoples in Latin America and international law; Race, Sex and Empire in Latin American international law; the imperial perspectives of Francisco de Vitoria, James Brown Scott, Alejandro Álvarez and other canonical figures of Latin American international law; the neo-colonialist policies on drugs, terrorism, human rights, immigration, trade, environment, etc.

Papers may also be presented based on questions that we are interested in such as: what have experiences of empire shaped both international legal histories, policies and practices? How did the metropoles (Spain, Portugal, France, England) extend their laws in the region, in particular locations? How did the law of nations contribute? What about the indigenous peoples and their laws: how did they integrate, resist to the metropoles imposition? Was

there an imperial-colonial rivalry and how did it happen? What happened after the European colonial period? What about 19th century concepts of empire?

To what extent is empire “normal” “good” or “peripheral”, “exceptional””bad”? What tensions presented in changes in space and time have some sense of transformative impact on empire? How were/are imperial laws resisted and collaborated? How do later forms of imperialism (post-colonial, neo-imperial) present softer technologies of governance, in public and private formal rule? How are historical narratives themselves ruling forms or interventions of practice and policies in international law? What can a particular case study in the region reveal about a larger issue of international law that we wouldn ́t know if we hadn ́t explored this location?

Wednesday, Sept 27 Session II
Histories and Historiography of/from/about International Law in Latin America

The second day will focus on writing histories and the historiography of international law of/from/about Latin America. Papers in this session will provide insight into questions of methodology and sources, periodization, selection of subjects, and context taken up in specific projects. This panel could provide an ideal starting point for investigating how (and whether) international legal histories might be both situated in Latin America and transcend their location. Some of the suggested topics are: biographies and their relation to international law: Francisco de Miranda, O ́Higgins, Alberdi, Simón Bolivar; Jesús Maria Yepes; José Cecilio del Valle; José María Torres Caicedo; Francisco Bilbao; José María Samper; José Victorino Lastarria; Alvaro Covarrubias, Domingo Santa María; Benjamín Vicuña; Mackenna, Amancio Alcorta; José Maria Drago; Manoel de Souza Sa Vianna; Vasconcelos, Díaz Cisneros; Vicente Quesada; José Ingenieros; César Quijano; Genaro Estrada; Ignacio Obregón Mora.

Events such as: Masonry, Secret Societies and the Law of Nations in Spanish American independence; Monroe Doctrine; Integration proposals (federation, alliances, union, leagues); Brazil and Latin America, Haiti and Latin America; Codification projects; the doctrine of Recognition; European and/or U.S. Intervention in the region; The Mexican and Cuban Revolutions;, Panlatinisme, Panamericanism, Iberoamericanism: Luso-Ibero Americanism; ;Napoleon French expedition to intervene in Mexico (1861-1867); Spanish American slave trade and the law of nations; French monarch Maximiliano as Emperor of Mexico; Panamericanism, the Cold War; Alcorta-Calvo Debate; José Martí , the OAS, Nuestra América vrs. Panamericanism; US v Spain 1898 – Puerto Rico; Platt Amendment and US in Cuba; Germany, England and Italy interventions in Venezuela 1912; Drago Doctrine; U.S. intervention and Colombia ́s loss of Panama; Lease of Guantanamo to the U.S; Revistas Unión Ibero-americana, Unión Hispano- Americana; The Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine; Tobar Doctrine; the Central American Permanent International Court of Justice; The United Fruit Company; Standard Oil Company and Cuba; Race, Eugenics, White Immigration; Eugenical Feminism in Mexico; the Latin American Societies of International Law; Pan American Scientific Congresses; Estrada Doctrine; Nationality of Women; FD Roosevelt and his “Good Neighbor” policy; 1948 OAS and Bogotazo; Political Asylum; Nicaragua before the ICJ; Latin American creation and participation in International Organizations; Betancourt Doctrine; Law and Development; Cuba and the OAS; The Inter-American Institute of International Legal Studies and the OAS; Ford Foundation and Law and Development; International Relations Theory and IL in LA; the War on Drugs; NGOs; Human Rights, Economic integration; The new era of Trumpism and anti-international law.

The papers may also discuss questions we are interested such as : What is Latin America in the history of international law? How has the narrative of progress and contribution in the history of Latin American international law left blindspots that have not been studied? Are there different histories or methodological perspectives written about Latin America and international law that need to be revisited? How can or should we write new legal histories that are inter-disciplinary, trans-geographic, and include socio- cultural, economic, environmental and political contexts? Why, in writing histories of international law about Latin America have we asked the questions that we have asked? And which questions have we failed to ask? In what ways do our understandings of the past shape our perceptions of the present and the future, and vice versa? Which international legal histories should be (re)written, and by whom? Particular contexts. how do present locations affect readings of the past and choices of historical subjects and methodology? How can or should such connections be drawn? How can we write better international legal history with other conceptual frameworks

(e.g. political economy, critical studies, postcolonial theory etc.)? Are there histories of international law that can be told outside of the lens of imperialism, neo-imperialism?

Thursday, Sept 28 Session III
Teaching International Law in Latin America

The third day will focus on teaching and scholarship of international law in Latin America. First, it will explore the intersections of teaching and available texts with the topics of the first two days, but not limited to them. Papers in this session will provide insight into questions of methodology, origin/reception of international law and how we teach it, regional/global perspectives that should/could be addressed in international law courses, debates on the selection of topics, the role of context and the language of academic production vs. local needs. We are also interested in analyzing legacies in education of canonical figures such as Andrés Bello, Carlos Calvo, Alejandro Álvarez and many others, their interaction with Eurocentrism and imperialism as well as their interest in teaching from a regional perspective.

Papers may also be presented based on questions such as: what is the current state of education and research relating to International Law among Latin America ́s Law Schools? What are the challenges and difficulties involved? What is the emphasis of legal education in Latin America and its correspondence with specific economic, political and social context? What is the influence of Eurocentrism/West/USA-centrism in the way we teach and write? What are the needs within Law Schools in Latin America? Do/can/should we propose critical perspectives regarding legal education from/about/in Latin America? What can be a relevant critical perspective useful for the region without just reproducing another “North-paradigm”? What is the role of education of International Law when responding to the problems of Latin America? What could/should be this role? What are the priorities of Latin American legal scholars today and how do they relate with the needs of a local/regional perspective (regarding topics/debates and language of publication)? What and whose histories of international law should we include in our syllabi? What strategies can we propose for the reformulation of research and teaching of International Law and its role in challenging the social, political and economic status quo in the region? Is it important to introduce a regional perspective in what we teach? What is the role of a Global South point of view when teaching international law?

Submission of Proposals and Timeline

– Paper proposals may be submitted in Spanish, Portuguese, French or English and presented in either language but we cannot guarantee simultaneous translation for all events. Proposals should include the day in which the applicant wants to present, a 500 word (max) abstract description and a biographical paragraph of the applicant ́s education, current institutional location, and relevant publications.

• –  Email to: paola.acosta@uexternado.edu.co
• –  The deadline for submission of abstracts is 3 April 2017. Selected participants will be notified by 3 May 2017.
• –  Participants must submit draft papers by 1 August .
• –  We are not able to offer airfare for participants coming from abroad but we may be able to offer some informal accommodations in homes for participants who request it.

– We will publish the best papers in the journals of the sponsoring universities.