Publication de l'article « Seeing like a Region. The Regional Re-Ordering of International Law » de la Pr Samantha Besson dans le German Yearbook of International Law.
Extrait
While the first regional international organisations (RIOs) emerged alongside States at the time of the correlative demise of Empires in the 19th century, including to counter or to champion the imperialist projects of some of those newborn States, they were not institutionalised as such in the international institutional order of the 20th century. Until recently, international lawyers too have largely neglected the relevance of RIOs for the political ordering of international law. This is even more regrettable as international law and, later, international organisations have always been regional. As a matter of fact, the recent return of regional international law and organisations is an opportunity for international world-making. The 2025 Walther Schücking Lecture opens this window and proposes that we start seeing like a region in international law. It presents a four-pronged argument: it clarifies the terms of the debate, starting with the regional and then moving onto its binary opposition to the universal (1.); it presents a brief history of regional international law and organisations (2.); it argues for their relevance for the future of international law (3.); and, finally, it presents the main tenets of a possible re-institution of the international law of regional organisations (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.
