Publication of the article “ Seeing like a Region: The Regional Re-Ordering of International Law ” by Prof. Samantha Besson in the German Yearbook of International Law .
While the first regional international organizations (RIOs) emerged alongside states during the simultaneous collapse of empires in the 19th century—in part to counter or champion the imperialist projects of some of those newly formed states—they were not institutionalized as such within the international institutional order of the 20th century. Until recently, international lawyers, too, have largely overlooked the relevance of RIOs to the political structuring of international law. This is all the more regrettable given that international law—and, later, international organizations—have always been regional in nature. In fact, the recent resurgence of regional international law and organizations presents an opportunity for shaping the international order. The 2025 Walther Schücking Lecture opens this window and proposes that we begin to think like a region in international law. It presents a four-part argument: it clarifies the terms of the debate, starting with the regional and then moving on to its binary opposition to the universal (1.); it presents a brief history of regional international law and organizations (2.); it argues for their relevance to the future of international law (3.); and, finally, it presents the main tenets of a possible re-establishment of the international law of regional organizations (4.).
Besson, S., “Seeing like a Region. The Regional Re-Ordering of International Law,” German Yearbook of International Law, Duncker & Humblot, October 2026, pp. 1–26.
