The Global Construction of International Law in the Nineteenth Century: The Case of Arbitration

Abstract

The history of international law has been Eurocentric, and properly so. That particular concatenation of state practice, political theory, religious and philosophical influences, diplomatic practices and events and imperial engagements that has led to the dominance of our current global states system has been driven primarily from Europe, by Europe, and for Europe. At the same time, the reconsideration of the history of international law over the past few decades has begun to integrate perspectives not only from outside of Europe—from individuals, cultures, and governments who were subjects of this aspect of European modernity over the past five hundred years—but also from ideas and practices of pre-contact cultures.