International Law on the Silk Road: Towards a New Methodological Paradigm By Sergey Sayapin Published on 6 January 2026 For several decades, international legal scholarship has been marked by a growing awareness of the limits of its canonical narratives. Critical and postcolonial approaches have exposed the Eurocentric foundations of the discipline, the structural inequalities embedded […]

Symposium | Imperialism, Sovereignty and the Making of International Law at 20 Response by Professor Antony Anghie I am deeply grateful to the authors who have engaged so thoughtfully and generously with Imperialism, Sovereignty and the Making of International Law (ISMIL). The essays range widely. Lin Zhaoran explores how a book is received within a particular context: […]

Symposium | Imperialism, Sovereignty and the Making of International Law at 20 Empire Comes Home? The Continued Relevance of ISMIL today By Sundhya Pahuja The United States is flexing its muscles: Western countries with ‘special relationships’ are being bullied with tariffs; Canada is threatened with annexation; Western leaders are feeling ‘betrayed’. But they should not be surprised. […]

Symposium | Imperialism, Sovereignty and the Making of International Law at 20 Sources of Hope for Anti-Imperial International Law By Phattharaphong Saengkrai Faculty of Law, Thammasat University 1. Introduction There is an apparent paradox of hope in Imperialism, Sovereignty and the Making of International Law. The central arguments in this magisterial book do not immediately inspire much […]

Symposium | Imperialism, Sovereignty and the Making of International Law at 20 Searching for a middle ground? The Reception of Imperialism, Sovereignty, and the Making of International Law in China By Dr. Lin Zhaoran Since its publication two decades ago, Anthony Anghie’s Imperialism, Sovereignty, and the Making of International Law (ISMIL) has had profound impact around the […]

Symposium | Imperialism, Sovereignty and the Making of International Law at 20 A Critique Of Postcolonial Sovereignty: Perspectives from Jammu and Kashmir By Sahiba Maqbool Introduction On the 20th anniversary of the publication of Antony Anghie’s Imperialism, Sovereignty and the Making of International Law, this blog post reflects on the enduring significance of his work in the […]

Symposium | Imperialism, Sovereignty and the Making of International Law at 20 The Law Was Never Meant to Protect Us By Zeina Jallad In Imperialism, Sovereignty and the Making of International Law, Anthony Anghie shows how Third World sovereignty was forged through the colonial encounter and became a retarding force, making it difficult to undo colonial legacies. […]

Symposium | Imperialism, Sovereignty and the Making of International Law at 20 Imperialism, Sovereignty and the Making of International Law at 20 by Ntina Tzouvala and Wanshu Cong Published on 12 November 2025 We live in dangerous, disorientating times characterised by the global resurgence of authoritarianism, ethno-nationalism and xenophobia. As we are finalising this note, […]

From Nairobi to Geneva: An Appraisal of the Global Plastic Treaty Negotiation Processes and the Road Ahead By Dr Liu Yulu Published on 17 September 2025 Plastic pollution has been found in places as high as the Himalayas and as deep as the Mariana Trench. Moreover, microplastics have been discovered in human bodies. Plastics can […]

Filling the Gap in Liability and Compensation for Alternative Fuel Spills from Ships By Joel Ong, Centre for International Law, NUS (formerly) LLM Candidate, Harvard Law School (present) jong@llm26.law.harvard.edu The shipping industry is betting big on alternative fuels for its energy transition. Based on the 2024 orderbook, over 1700 vessels have been ordered with alternative […]

The AANZFTA Upgrade: E-Commerce Enhancements (Part 2) By Miguel Jaime Encarnacion Published on 29 August 2025 The second installment of this series discusses electronic commerce (e-commerce) under the Agreement Establishing the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area (AANZFTA). Focusing on regulatory aspects, this blog follows its development from the original 2009 AANZFTA to its Second Protocol […]

The ICJ Advisory Opinion and the Energy Transition Mandate By Dr Mohammad Hazrati Published on 14 August 2025 Finally, the long-awaited Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the obligations of States regarding climate change has been delivered. The Opinion exceeds expectations and can confidently be described as a turning point, not […]