Wouter G. Werner - Böcker

Punitive practices are highly revealing of a society's social fabric, its normative order, and power structure. Punishment in International Society examines the penal philosophies and practices in international society. The contributions to this book show the added value of a punitive lens to international politics in two major ways: First, punitive practices reveal the contours of the international normative order, its structures, and hierarchies. Such a perspective highlights the prominent position of individuals in the current normative order, but it also reveals a major divergence in the international normative order between a global North that emphasizes individualized, retributive punishment for atrocity crimes and a global South that puts reparations for past colonial wrongs on the agenda. Second, in contrast to a nation-state, the authority to sanction and act in defense of the normative order is far more dispersed and contested in international society. Although there is a demand to embed punitive practices in procedures and institutions, the most legitimate site of such authority remains contested as regional organizations such as the African Union compete with the United Nations for the authority to defend the normative order. This book brings together an international roster of scholars from the social sciences, law, and humanities. The contributions demonstrate that punitive practices have been more prevalent than commonly acknowledged as they have often been masked as (self-)defence, reparations, or coercive diplomacy. By approaching international punishment from various disciplines, this volume sheds new light on different dimensions of the punitive practices across the globe.

The concepts of humanity, human dignity and mankind have emerged in different contexts across international law and biolaw. This raises many different questions. What are the aims for which 'humanity' is mobilised? How do these aims affect the ensuing interpretations of this concept? What are the negative counterparts of humanity, mankind and human dignity? And what happens if a concept developed in one particular context is taken up in another? By bringing together research from international law, biolaw and legal theory, this volume answers such questions by analysing how the concepts overlap and contradict each other across the disciplines. The result is not an examination of what humanity is but rather what it does and what it brings about in a variety of contexts.

Globalisation and international governance constantly pose challenges to international law. This constant challenge can only be understood if one keeps in mind that globalisation and international governance are not simple and linear developments, but rather complex and contradictory processes. The emergence of several overlapping and competing normative orders – characterized in terms of ‘new medievalism’ and ‘legal pluralism’ - has given impetus to some age-old debates in international law: What is the role of the ‘international community’? What is the proper function and meaning of state sovereignty in international law? What are the powers of international organizations in relation to the overlapping legal orders of their member states? At a more practical level, the problem of ‘legal pluralism’ is discussed in the context of the proliferation of international tribunals: how does this affects the unity and coherence of international law and what should be the proper role of lawyers in dealing with competing norms and competences? Finally, the complex and contradictory nature of international governance is illustrated by the role of international non-governmental organizations in different periods and areas, such as criminal law, environmental law and cyberspace.This book discusses the above-mentioned topics from a multidisciplinary perspective. It combines insights from international relations theory, legal theory and international law in an attempt to clarify some issues of globalisation, international governance and international law.

This volume of the Netherlands Yearbook of International Law explores the many faces of populism, and the different manifestations of the relationship between populism and international law. Rather than taking the so-called populist backlash against globalisation, international law and governance at face value, this volume aims to dig deeper and wonders ‘What backlash are we talking about, really?’. While populism is contextual and contingent on the society in which it arises and its relationship with international law and institutions thus has differed likewise, this volume assists in our examination of what we find so dangerous about populism and problematic in its relationship with international law.The Netherlands Yearbook of International Law was first published in 1970. It offers a forum for the publication of scholarly articles in a varying thematic area of public international law.

This volume of the Netherlands Yearbook of International Law explores the many faces of populism, and the different manifestations of the relationship between populism and international law.

This volume of the Netherlands Yearbook of International Law (NYIL) is the fiftieth in the Series, which means that the NYIL has now been with us for half a century.