In searching for SWAIL (Second World Approaches to International Law), this project takes as its point of departure that Eastern Europe occupies a liminal space within the discipline of international law. Neither of the ‘core’, nor of the ‘periphery’, the region occupies a liminal, semi-peripheral, and largely invisible mental space, that results in its ‘dual exclusion’ from both mainstream Western and non-Western approaches to international law. In recovering Eastern Europe’s place and role in international law, this project not only aims to develop a more nuanced understanding of international law’s past, present and future, and to unsettle some mainstream and critical narratives that have come to dominate the discipline in the last two decades; it aims also to foster bridges with scholars from other regions and is geared to countering imperialism by addressing epistemic injustice in international law vis-à-vis Eastern Europe.
Hendrik Simon will contribute to the second panel with a keynote on “German Expansion – Polish Resistance. On a Special Relationship in Modern War Discourse”.
Part of a larger project on Eastern Europe’s place and role in international law, this first workshop is organized by the Polish Academy of Sciences, Institute of Law Studies with the generous support of the ‘Memocracy’ project (Volkswagen Stiftung grant no. 120221), Central European University, Department of International Relations and Legal Studies, and the University of Łódź.
When: February 21–22, 2025
Where: Central European University, 51 Quellenstraße, 1100 Vienna
Further information can be found on the website of the Central European University.