Download full text
(external source)
Citation Suggestion
Please use the following Persistent Identifier (PID) to cite this document:
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0922156518000468
Exports for your reference manager
African International Legal Histories - International Law in Africa: Perspectives and Possibilities
[journal article]
Abstract Hitherto, the ‘African part’ of the history of international law has often been limited to the (critical engagement with) ‘the acquisition of Africa’ since the 1880s and questions of ‘state succession’ and international borders following independence starting in the 1950s. In this historical narrati... view more
Hitherto, the ‘African part’ of the history of international law has often been limited to the (critical engagement with) ‘the acquisition of Africa’ since the 1880s and questions of ‘state succession’ and international borders following independence starting in the 1950s. In this historical narrative, the dominance of colonialism is evident. It seems that ‘Africa’ as a narrative concept in international legal history remains tied to abstract contrasts such as ‘foreign domination’ versus ‘independence’, or ‘exploitation’ versus ‘development’. However, if twenty-first century writings about ‘international law in Africa’ and its histories remain shaped by this perspective, historians may lose sight of issues, questions, or ideas formed in historical Africa that do not fit into this preconceived dichotomous matrix. After discussing methodological challenges, this article asks for other ‘contacts’, other arenas of ‘internationality’ and international law in Africa’s pre-colonial past. These contacts reach back very far in history. Three arenas are mentioned: the Red Sea area and Ethiopian-Arab relations; the Indian Ocean rim; and finally, the case of nineteenth-century Ethiopia.... view less
Keywords
Africa; international law; law of nations; historical development
Classification
Law
Free Keywords
presentism
Document language
English
Publication Year
2018
Page/Pages
p. 897-914
Journal
Leiden Journal of International Law, 31 (2018) 4
Handle
https://hdl.handle.net/10419/205363
ISSN
1478-9698
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed
Licence
Deposit Licence - No Redistribution, No Modifications