Reinforcing the (neo-)Hobbesian representations of international law

Abstract

The question of the foundations of the international legal order has long fuelled controversies. The mainstream international legal scholarship, dominated by liberal and constitutionalist discourses, has advocated an understanding of international law that rests on global values. This article examines the work of a few Eastern European scholars with a view to demonstrating that the mainstream liberal and constitutionalist value-based conceptions of the international legal order have not been uncontested. In doing so, this article draws on the resemblances between Eastern European and Asian legal scholarships in their attempts to question the hegemonic and imperialistic overtones of an ever-growing international law.