LCIL Friday Lecture: 'International Law on Trial' - Professor Latha Varadarajan

Lecture summary: How has imperialism as a system determined the origins, nature and trajectory of international law? Is it possible for international law as a body of rules, as system of norms, as a set of institutions, to help create a more just and progressive world order in a world that continues to be shaped by imperialism? This lecture will provide a brief look at the various and arguably limited attempts by international law as a field to engage with the issue of imperialism, focusing in particular on the critical importance and need of a Marxist approach. Professor Latha Varadarajan is a Professor of Political Science, and the Director of the Center on International Security and Conflict Resolution at San Diego State University. She is the author of The Domestic Abroad: Diasporas in International Relations (OUP, 2010) and Imperialism Past and Present (with Emanuele Saccarelli, OUP, 2015). Her articles on transnationalism, nationalism and imperialism have been published in journals including The European Journal of International Relations, International Relations, New Political Science, and Review of International Studies.