British Branch Research Articles

In Memoriam: Dr. Roger Simpson (1938–2022)

In Memoriam: Dr. Roger Simpson (1938–2022) Alan Lupack, Director Emeritus, Barbara Tepa Lupack, and Kevin J. Harty, Professor of English Click for larger view View full resolution It is with great sadness that we report the recent death of Dr. Roger Simpson, a member of the British Branch of the International Arthurian Society, but a great supporter and friend of the North American Branch and a frequent contributor to Arthuriana as an author and as a submissions and book reviewer. Roger had a truly amazing academic career. After earning a BA in English Language and Literature in 1960 from Wadham College, Oxford, he completed a Diploma in Education at Oxford two years later. From 1962–1963, he was Assistant English Master at Verdin Grammar School in England. From 1963–1965, he was Senior English Master at Old Kampala Senior Secondary School in Uganda. From 1965–1966, he returned to England and served as Assistant English Master at Aylesbury Girls High School. From 1966–1968, he was Senior English Master at Momenshahi Cadet College in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). From 1969–1982, he was Senior Lecturer and Head of English at Gulf Polytechnic in Bahrain. He returned to England in 1982 to take up a position at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, where he taught and remained until 2003. In 1988, he completed [End Page 75] his doctorate at the University of East Anglia with a thesis on The Arthurian Revival and Tennyson, 1800–1849. In 1998, he was a visiting scholar at the National Museum of Ethnography in Osaka, Japan. Roger authored two important Arthurian monographs: Camelot Regained: The Arthurian Revival and Tennyson, 1800–1849 (1990) and Radio Camelot: Arthurian Legends on the BBC, 1922–2005 (2008). His other publications include dozens of essays and reviews on multiple aspects of Arthuriana. Roger was a scholar’s scholar who took immense joy in the painstaking work of unearthing forgotten Arthurian works and authors. He was able to present his research in a comprehensive and compelling way and to infect others with his enthusiasm for his discoveries. As his two books and many essays attest, Roger was interested in, and made contributions to, the study of Arthuriana in both ‘high’ and popular culture. Whether responding to questions at a conference from an established colleague or from beginning graduate students, Roger was always the model of earnestness, grace, and courtesy. He was the gentlest of gentlemen. To those who knew him, Roger was a convivial colleague, a charming host, and the most generous of scholars. Like Chaucer’s Clerk, gladly did he learn and gladly teach. Survivors include his wife, Paddy, and their son, Dr. St. John Simpson, Assistant Keeper for Iran, Central Asia, and Arabia at the British Museum. [End Page 76] Alan Lupack, Director Emeritus The Robbins Library, University Of Rochester Barbara Tepa Lupack Rochester, New York Kevin J. Harty, Professor of English La Salle University Copyright © 2022 Arthuriana

Pentecostalism: A democratizing, liberating force for black women?

ABSTRACT Historically Pentecostals have used Galatians 3:26–28 to validate the equality between believers, regardless of a person’s sex. The scripture that states there is neither ‘male and female for you are all one in Christ Jesus’, seemingly promises a new community of people functioning equally and in unity. But if this is so, why have black women who historically occupied prominent places within Pentecostal revivals like Azusa Street had their influenced curtailed by denominations that evolved from the movement? And why do Pentecostal denominations like the Church of God (COG) and the British branch the New Testament Church of God (NTCG) deny women the highest rank of office as Bishops? This paper examines the impact of the black woman Lucy Farrow and suggests her prominence within Azusa created a precedent for black women leaders. The paper will contrast the policies of COG and NTCG with Farrow’s ministerial freedom and offer reflections on the position of black British Pentecostal women and consider whether Pentecostalism has been a liberating force.

Born-again Muslims? Intra-religious Conversion and the Tablighi Jama’at

ABSTRACT Since its inception in 1920s British India, the Tablighi Jama’at (TJ) has grown into a global movement of faith renewal, animating grassroots Muslim communities around the world. Based on sustained ethnographic fieldwork with the British branch of the movement, this article proposes a concept of ‘intra-religious conversion’ to capture a key modality of its impact in everyday Muslim lives. By this is denoted a shift from a nominal form of Islamic practice to one of passionate devotion. Multiple interview narratives are presented to dissect the conversion experience through a series of precipitating push and pull factors, of which ‘affective ties’ and ‘intensive interaction’ emerge as key. Three key reasons for TJ’s enduring appeal to British-born male Muslims are suggested: (1) its propensity to transform the individual’s relationship with his religion from a ‘passive consumer’ to an ‘active purveyor’; (2) its fostering of strong bonds of belonging and brotherhood; (3) its ability to offer certainty in a world of flux. The findings challenge previous scholarship on British TJ by demonstrating its ongoing popularity among successive generations of Muslims, though reasons why followers may drift away from the movement after undergoing life-changing intra-religious conversion experiences are also explored.

Geographies of Marketization in Higher Education: Branch Campuses as Territorial and Symbolic Fixes

The role of higher education institutions as active agents of globalization and marketization remains relatively little explored. Economic geographic perspectives are particularly well placed to investigate globalizing higher education as an important economic sector, in addition to its supportive role in the knowledge economy. Drawing on political economic and cultural economic perspectives on marketization and geographic fixes, the study analyzes the motivations and spatial strategies for geographic expansion of universities through the establishment of branch campuses. Based on qualitative interviews with key decision-makers of English universities, I argue that (international) branch campuses enable a range of geographic fixes for higher education institutions: a territorial fix through the geographic expansion and construction of segmented markets and a symbolic fix through the relocation of campuses to places that promise reputational gains. The rapid growth of British branch campuses abroad and domestically (in the global city of London) involve substantial financial and reputational risks and as fixes constitute only temporary stabilizations. The conceptualization of symbolic fixes, in addition to territorial fixes, may enable a more nuanced understanding of the role of space in the construction of segmented, yet relational markets that combines intersecting political economic and cultural economic logics.

The Shanghai Museum and the introduction of taxidermy and habitat dioramas into China, 1874–1952

The Shanghai Museum, which was established by the primarily British and American expatriate-led North-China Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society in 1874 and continued to operate until 1952, had a major influence on the popularization of natural history knowledge in China. It contributed to training the first generation of Chinese taxidermists, many descendants of whom continue even today to hold positions in academic institutions related to natural history in the country. Moreover, the Museum's habitat dioramas, in particular, played a significant role in raising public awareness about environmental issues among local and foreign residents of Shanghai. This paper traces the salient aspects of the Museum's history, focusing on the key individuals involved in its development and the contributions that it made to the production, dissemination and popularization of natural history knowledge and techniques.

The provision of care to adults with an intellectual disability in the UK. A Special report from the intellectual disability UK chapter ILAE

PurposeThis article reflects the report by the British Branch of the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) Working Group on services for adults with epilepsy and intellectual disability (ID). Its terms of reference was to explore the current status of aspects of the care of people with an ID and epilepsy. MethodsSurvey content was developed from key themes identified by consensus of the working group. An electronic survey was distributed via email. The sample population was the membership of the ILAE UK, Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCPsych) Faculty of ID, Epilepsy Nurses Association (ESNA), and the Association of British Neurologists (ABN). Following a six week response period the data was then collated, anonymised and distributed to the working group in order that opinion statements could be gathered. ResultsThe time taken for individuals with both new-onset and established epilepsy to undergo routine investigation was commonly at least 1–3 months, far beyond recommendations made by NICE (CG20). A small minority of clinicians would not consider non-pharmacological interventions including epilepsy surgery, vagus nerve stimulation, and ketogenic diet for this population. Almost universally responders are actively involved in the assessment and management of key risk areas including risk of drowning, hospitalization, medication side effects, and sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP). ConclusionThis investigation identifies key themes and recommendations relating to care delivery and meeting the complex needs of people with ID and epilepsy. Adults with ID and epilepsy appear to exist in a unique, but inadequate, segment of epilepsy care delivery.

Eminent Arthurian: P.J.C. Field

Eminent Arthurian: P.J.C. Field K.S. Whetter All Malory scholars, and a good many Arthurian scholars in general, are familiar with the work of Professor P.J.C. Field. Peter is a former President of the International Arthurian Society, former host of a successful Society congress, winner of the North American Branch’s Lacy Award and, most significantly, author of an impressive array of publications exploring various aspects of many different Arthurian (and non-Arthurian) texts and topics. He is certainly an eminent Arthurian. The photograph that accompanies my tribute to Peter was taken at the formal launch of his edition of Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte Darthur, a launch that took place at the September 2013 meeting of the British Branch of the International Arthurian Society, by happy coincidence held at Bangor University, where Peter has made his home for the past fifty years.1 The appearance of this much-anticipated edition is an appropriate occasion to reflect upon Peter’s many accomplishments and his deserved eminence, not just in terms of his scholarly achievements, but also in the regard and affection of those who know him, worldwide. Peter has published interesting and convincing studies of (inter alia) Nennius, Arthur’s battles, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the alliterative Morte Arthure, Chaucer, and The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnell. Obviously, however, it is Peter’s work on Malory and the text of the Morte which has won him the most renown. Many of Peter’s textual studies were revised and published together in his Malory: Texts and Sources, but other Malorian highlights include his Romance and Chronicle, a well-regarded monograph on Malory’s prose style, an edition of Tales VII and VIII of the Morte published initially in 1977, the revision of Vinaver’s three-volume critical edition, and the authoritative biography, The Life and Times of Sir Thomas Malory.2 It is a testament to Peter’s integrity that he revised Vinaver’s text in accordance with Vinaver’s principles; that is, he confined himself to correcting manifest errors and updating the notes but refrained from modifying the text or apparatus in any of the substantial ways Peter’s own scholarship had revealed should be done. Thus for many years Malory scholars could glean Peter’s textual-critical conclusions from his own publications, but it is only now, with [End Page 5] the much-anticipated complete edition of the Morte before us, that the scholarly community can at last see the text as Peter reconstructs it. In my opinion, that reconstruction is marvelous. For one thing, the edition itself is very attractive, including the endpapers with the arms of King Arthur juxtaposed against those of Thomas Malory. For another, we have the entire text in one very clean volume, with none of Vinaver’s various brackets detracting from Malory’s words. Finally and most substantially, there is the text itself. Peter has not been shy of modifying readings in either Winchester or Caxton; this is especially so in the contentious Roman War section. Not all textual scholars will agree with such emendation, just as not all scholars agree that the Newbold Revel Malory penned the Morte Darthur; but anyone who disputes the authorship question must rebut the considerable and convincing evidence marshalled by Peter. Likewise, there are also those who still feel that the Caxton Morte Darthur is at least as valid as the text contained in the Winchester manuscript—but anyone who upholds this view must deal with the collective weight of Works, Texts and Sources, and Peter’s introduction to the new edition. The apparatus and commentary are equally authoritative, detailing significant variant readings or scribal corrections, and—to take but one example—managing to offer a clear path through, and some new insights about, the critical debate regarding possible sources for the ‘Healing of Sir Urry.’ Peter’s text of the Click for larger view View full resolution P.J.C. Field with his New Edition of Malory. Photograph Courtesy of Samantha Rayner. [End Page 6] Morte is convincing, even Malorian, and I believe it will rightfully become the standard edition for scholars now and long into the...

‘The Women's Movement Took the Wrong Turning’: British feminists, pacifism and the politics of appeasement

The history of foreign policy and especially the Munich Crisis of 1938–1939 have been viewed from various angles but never from the points of view of gender and feminism. This has been a significant oversight in the scholarship, especially as there were many prominent women politicians who were heavily invested in the appeasement debate, and because the majority of feminist organisations became increasingly preoccupied with foreign affairs and the specific effect of dictatorship on women. This article explores how British feminists responded to the policy and the fallout of appeasement in the late 1930s; how the British branch of the most prominent transnational feminist pacifist organisation, the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) made the transition from peace, to Crisis, to war; before focusing on two intertwined biographical case studies of Kathleen Courtney and Maude Royden. There were various responses and dramatic fluctuations in positioning in the years leading to the world war, with many feminists struggling to come to terms with the intellectual, emotional and psychological shift from feminist-informed internationalism and pacifism to a rejection of appeasement and support for the war effort. Both Courtney and Royden had spent the two preceding decades in the forefront of the feminist pacifist movement, and the rise of Nazi Germany, the international crisis and then the Second World War itself forced each to resituate herself and make psychologically and ideologically wrenching decisions.

Introduction to this Special Issue of JEEG: The Geophysics of Glacial and Frozen Materials

This Special Issue of the Journal of Environmental and Engineering Geophysics arises from a conference on Geophysics and Glacial Materials, hosted by the Environmental and Industrial Geophysics Group, The Geological Society, UK (http:∕∕www.geolsoc.org.uk∕template.cfm?name=geogroup12). This conference was held at the School of Applied Sciences, Northumbria University, UK, in conjunction with the Annual Meeting of the British Branch of the International Glaciological Society from 14–16 September 2005.

Abstracts of the ILAE British Branch Annual Scientific Meeting, University of Exeter, April 3–6, 2002

Abstracts of the ILAE British Branch Annual Scientific Meeting, University of Exeter, April 3–6, 2002

Imagining the International Community

* Presented to the Committee on Theory and International Law of the International Law Association (British Branch) at the University of Durham on 27 January 2001 and at the University of Glasgow on 1 June 2001. ** University of Nottingham. Rapporteur of the Committee on Theory and International Law of the International Law Association (British Branch) (1998–2001). I owe a special debt of gratitude to Thomas Franck and Colin Warbrick, and, of course, to the members of the Committee on Theory and International Law for providing an excellent and sustained intellectual environment for developing the ideas contained in this article. ‡ T. M. Franck, The Power of Legitimacy among Nations (1990) 15. § Kennedy, ‘The Disciplines of International Law and Policy’, 12 Leiden Journal of International Law (1999) 9, at 126. P. Allott, International Law and International Revolution: Reconceiving the World (1989) 10. EJIL (2002), Vol. 13 No. 4, 961–992 Imagining the International Community*

Symposium on Thomas M. Franck's Fairness in International Law and Institutions (1995)

Thomas Franck's 1993 General Course at the Hague Academy of International Law, subsequently published in 1995 as Fairness in International Law and Institutions, is the subject of a series of critical evaluations by a group of British scholars, including Iain Scobbie, Holly Cullen, Stephen Tierney, Dino Kritsiotis and John Tasioulas, and introduced by Colin Warbrick. The publication of these essays marks the culmination of the first program of work of the Committee on Theory and International Law of the International Law Association (British Branch). Franck responds to his critics by rejecting claims of cultural relativism and calling for a celebration of the growing international consensus around decent aspirational values, such as the sanctity of life, right to democracy, participation in governance, freedom of religion and expression, the right to a decent standard of living, and the inherently equal worth of all persons.

The Search for a New Normativity: Thomas Franck, Post-modern Neo-tribalism and the Law of Self-determination

* Faculty of Law, University of Edinburgh. I am grateful to Bill Bowring, Holly Cullen, Thomas Franck, Kathryn Last, Victor Tadros and to all members of the ILA (British Branch) Committee on Theory and International Law for helpful comments on earlier drafts and seminar presentations of this paper. 1 Eisner, ‘A Procedural Model for the Resolution of Secessionist Disputes’, 33 Harvard International Law Journal (1992) 413. 2 T. M. Franck, Fairness in International Law and Institutions (1995) [hereinafter Fairness]. EJIL (2002), Vol. 13 No. 4, 941–960 The Search for a New Normativity: Thomas Franck, Post-modern Neo-tribalism and the Law of Self-determination

Introduction to the Symposium

* Professor of Law, University of Durham. 1 The Committee on Theory and International Law of the International Law Association (British Branch) was the forum for this Symposium. 2 Warbrick, ‘The Theory of International Law: Is There an English Contribution?’, in P. Allott et al (eds), Theory and International law: An Introduction (1991) 47. 3 For the use of this expression, see Simma and Paulus, ‘The Responsibility of Individuals for Human Rights Abuses in Internal Conflicts: A Positivist View’, 93 AJIL (1999) 302, at 306–308. 4 See the observations of a British international relations expert, Armstrong, ‘Law, Justice and the Idea of a World Society’, 75 International Affairs (1999) 547; for stringent criticism of policy adopted on such principles in a specific situation, see B. Simms, Unfinest Hour: Britain and the Destruction of Bosnia (2001). 5 R. Cook, ‘British Foreign Policy’, 12 May 1997. All the speeches of Foreign Office Ministers appear on the Foreign & Commonwealth Office website. Cook’s was among them. It is not there now! 6 Speech by Prime Minister Tony Blair to the Economic Club of Chicago, 22 April 1999, www.fco.gov.uk/ news/speechtext.asp?2316; Labour Party Conference speech, The Guardian, 3 October 2001. 7 United Kingdom Materials on International Law, LXXI BYbIL (2000) 549. The story really begins somewhat earlier with the legal justification for the use of force in the no-fly zones over Iraq, LXII BYbIL (1992), at 827–828. 8 ‘Legal Warning on War Aims’, The Guardian, 4 October 2001, at 2. EJIL (2002), Vol. 13 No. 4, 902–907 Introduction to the Symposium

The epilepsy nurse specialistexpendable handmaiden or essential colleague?

The benefits of a specialist epilepsy nurse in the management of people with epilepsy are still in question. Evidence from controlled clinical trials suggests that patients supported by a nurse specialist are well informed and have a high degree of satisfaction. However, no significant effect on health status or the number of seizures has been yet demonstrated, although this is not the primary function of most epilepsy specialist nurses.The recent International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) British Branch meeting in Liverpool (April 2001) dedicated a one-day symposium to epilepsy nursing including a debate on the effectiveness of the epilepsy specialist nursewarm fuzzy feeling or evidence based?'. Although it was agreed that evidence-based research is limited, the case studies and data presented, throughout the symposium, highlighted the varying role of the epilepsy specialist nurse in supporting both the specialist physician in epilepsy care, the non-specialist physician and the primary care physician in patient communication. This paper provides an overview of the presentations given at the symposium, including those on nursing research and publishing.

The Arthur of the Germans. The Arthurian Legend in Medieval German and Dutch Literature ed. by W. H. Jackson and S. A. Ranawake (review)

ARTHURIANA Huston and Allen seem at least to be having fun with their parts. Huston maintains a gyno-sacerdotal demeanor appropriate to the Lady ofthe Lake, and Allen plays the vamp as heavy in a throwback to an acting style that seems inspired by Theda Bara. Margulies, try as she might, simply lacks gravitas—her still-intact-television ER midwestern accent making an already tinny dialogue sound only worse. Present in the miniseries is the battle between pagan/feminine/nurturing and Christian/masculine/destructive, with the Saxons thrown in for good measure as enemies to all. The time frame is correct, and some of the costuming and sets are close enough, but overall a great deal oftalent, time, money, and effort seems to have been for naught. It is encouraging that interest in movies and telefilms set in some version of the Middle Ages continues (cf. this Summer's A Knight's Tale which, for all its anachronisms, is still a better reimagining of the medieval). One only wishes that this interest provided us with something better to watch—and to write about. KEVIN J. HARTY 1.a Salle University w. H. Jackson and s. a. ranawake, eds., The Arthur ofthe Germans. The Arthurian Legendin Medieval German andDutch Literature. Arthurian Literature in the Middle Ages, III. Cardiff: University ofWales Press, 2000. Pp. xii, 337. isbn: o—7083-1595-x. $65. Volume III ofthe series Arthurian Literature in the Middle Ages, like the two previous volumes on Welsh (1991) and English (1999) Arthurian literature, was published in cooperation with the Vinaver Trust, established by the British Branch of the International Arthurian Society to commemorate the distinguished scholar Eugène Vinaver. The volumes in this series are intended to be successors to the now classic Arthurian Literature in the Middle Ages (1959). In his Preface, W R. J. Barron notes that the volumes are 'primarily addressed to students of the individual culture in question, but also to those of other cultures who, for the appreciation of their own Arthurian literature, need to be aware ofthe various expressions ofthe legend' (p. ix). Therefore, 'the volumes aim to present the present state of knowledge as individual contributors see it' and who 'also address the needs ofspecialist scholars by discussing current academic controversies, and themselves treating open questions of research' (p. ix). The volume is divided into five parts: 1. 'Reception and Appropriation: The German Verse Romances, Twelfth Century to 1300'; 2. Continuity and Change in the Later Middle Ages'; 3. The Medieval Dutch Arthurian Material'; 4. Other Literary, Pictorial and Social Manifestations of Arthurian Culture'; 5. 'The Legacy' The Arthur ofthe Germans encompasses more than the subtitle would suggest, for the volume also contains a chapter on 'King Arthur and his Round Table in the Culture of Medieval Bohemia and in Medieval Czech Literature' by Alfred Thomas (pp. 249-56). In the Introduction (pp. 1-18), W. H. Jackson and Silvia Ranawake remark that 'the volume must be understood in the medieval, integrative sense ofthe words dietsch and tiutsch' REVIEWS123 (p. 1), that is, Middle High German and Middle Dutch respectively, which were just beginning to separate out as distinct languages. FIence also the inclusion of Czech literature, which shows 'a further eastward spread of Arthurian literature into the Slav world through the medium ofGerman' (p. 2). The first chapter, 'The Western Background' by Ingrid Kasten, sketches 'the early history of the Arthurian legend, which preceded its reception in German literature' (p. 21). And this is followed, as one would expect, by chapters on FIartmann von Aue, Ulrich von Zatzikhoven, Wolfram von Eschenbach, Heinrich von dem Türlin, Der Stricker, Der Pleier, and the late thirteenth-century anonymous Wigamur, Gauriel, Lohengrin, as well as fragments of Arthurian romances. Gottfried von Strassburg is saved for Part Two, where Mark Chinea discusses the entire German Tristan tradition in 'Tristan Narratives from the High to the Later Middle Ages' (pp. 117-34), to which chapter Volker Mertens has contributed an appendix on 'Arthur in the Tristan Tradition' (pp. 135-41). The second part also contains chapters on the Wigalois narratives, the Prosa-Lancelot, late medieval summations, such as Ulrich Fiietrer's Buch der Abenteuer, and Lorengel. Parts...

Epilepsy—doctor’s dilemma, lawyer’s delight? Medico-legal consequences of practising in the field of epilepsy report of an International League Against Epilepsy British Branch meeting—Edinburgh, April 2000

Six cases are described where the medical management of a person’s epilepsy was brought under legal scrutiny. Lessons learnt from this educational exercise include improving doctor patient communication, the function of a Coroner’s Court, when is misdiagnosis negligent, the vagaries of expert witnesses, should failure to diagnose a tumour be blamed on the physician or the service when facilities are inadequate, is failure to recognise a rare drug interaction, failure to warn against an interaction, or failure to take a proper history, negligent? The conference also examined the legal ramifications of the nurse/doctor relationship in epilepsy care, the place of epilepsy guidelines and, due to its interactive nature, reflected on the audience’s epilepsy knowledge, which, in places seemed significantly deficient. It was a gripping educational exercise.

Law and politics in the age of globalization

The volume under review contains a collection of contributions dealing with the role of law in international politics. In the process of globalization, law is torn between resistance to and the embrace of political change. This volume explores this situation in challenging, sometimes provocative articles. Three themes stand out: the relationship between legal and political theory, the search for legal regulation of globalization and the role of the Security Council. In all of these areas, international lawyers should not be blind to the political environment of international law, but nevertheless insist on legal accountability as a precondition for the legitimacy of the exercise of political power. Confronted with revolutionary political change, there may be a tendency for law to either resist change, which all too often condemns it to irrelevance and pure moralism, or there may be a drive to embrace change, with the risk of collapsing into an apologism of brute power. The volume reviewed in this essay 1 constitutes one of the most complete and thorough explorations of the relationship between international law and international relations in the age of globalization. It is the outcome of a conference of the British branch of the International Law Association, held in Oxford in 1998, on 'The Role of Law in International Politics'. 2 The editor, Michael Byers, does not fail to note in his introduction that 24 March 1999, with its twofold significance of marking the beginning of the NATO air campaign against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in an attempt to protect the human rights of the people of Kosovo and the judgment by the House of Lords in the Pinochet affair, has brought to the fore the double-edged nature of this relationship. While some have heralded these

Rebirth

This essay was awarded the Patient's Millennium Gowers prize of 1999 by the council of the British Branch of the International League Against Epilepsy.

Under Rhodes' Eyes: The ‘Old’ and the ‘New’ International Law at Looking Distance

The Spring Conference of the British Branch of the International Law Association exemplified to the authors some of the ways in which the ‘old’ encounters the ‘new’ in contemporary international law. Followed by a selective Bibliography of new-stream international legal writing, this Editorial tries to unravel the ‘interested distance’ maintained by the mainstream towards new trends in international legal scholarship.