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27 - Grotian Revivals in the Theory and History of International Law

from Part V - The Reception of Grotius

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 September 2021

By
Ignacio de la Rasilla
Edited by
Randall Lesaffer  and
Janne E. Nijman
Randall Lesaffer
Affiliation:
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium
Janne E. Nijman
Affiliation:
Universiteit van Amsterdam
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Summary

This chapter examines how the title of founder of the law of nations was bestowed upon Grotius and how the liberal internationalist interpretation of the existence of a Grotian tradition in international law came into being. It also reviews the extent to which both historical constructs have been challenged by new historical research and contemporary re-interpretations of Grotius’ works and figure. The first part accompanies the reception of Grotius by international lawyers from the discovery of his De Jure Praedae in 1864 to the establishment of the Grotius Society during WWI. The second part examines the revivals of Grotius among international lawyers in the aftermaths of both world wars and considers a number of Grotius-related historiographical developments during the Cold War period. The third part examines how, in recent decades, on the one hand Grotius has become further institutionalised as a global symbol of international law while on the other hand his reputation has suffered from him being labelled a handmaiden of European colonialism and exploitation. The conclusion reflects on the lasting fame of the ‘miracle of Holland’ among international lawyers and suggests that the history of international law as a research field should take a break from Hugo Grotius.

Keywords

GrotiusVitoria, LauterpachtrevivalEurocentrismGrotius Societyinvented traditionpost-colonialEnglish School of International relationsAlexandrowicz
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Companion to Hugo Grotius , pp. 578 - 596
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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References

Further Reading

Cavallar, G., ‘Vitoria, Grotius, Pufendorf, Wolff and Vattel: accomplices of European colonialism and exploitation or true cosmopolitans?’ Journal of the History of International Law 10 (2008) 181–209.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
De la Rasilla, I., In the Shadow of Vitoria. A History of International Law in Spain (1770–1953) (Leiden and Boston, 2017).Google Scholar
Grewe, W.G., The Epochs of International Law (Berlin, 2000).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Haggenmacher, P., Grotius et la doctrine de la guerre juste (Paris, 1983).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Keene, E., Beyond the Anarchical Society: Grotius, Colonialism and Order in World Politics (Cambridge, 2002).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Koskenniemi, M., ‘A history of international law histories’, in Fassbender, B. and Peters, A. (eds.) The Oxford Handbook of the History of International Law (Oxford, 2012) 943–71.Google Scholar
Lauterpacht, H., ‘The Grotian tradition in international law’, British Yearbook of International Law 23 (1946)1–53.Google Scholar
Lesaffer, R., ‘The Grotian tradition revisited: change and continuity in the history of international law’, British Yearbook of International Law 73 (2002) 103–39.Google Scholar
Nijman, J.E., ‘Grotius’ Imago Dei anthropology: grounding ius Naturae et Gentium’, in Koskenniemi, M., García-Salmones, M. and Amorosa, P. (eds.), International Law and Religion. Historical and Contemporary Perspectives (Oxford, 2017) 87–110.Google Scholar
Parry, J.T., ‘What is the Grotian tradition in international law?’ University of Pennsylvania Journal of International Law 35 (2014) 299–377.Google Scholar
Skouteris, T., ‘The turn to history in international law’, Oxford Bibliographies of International Law (2017) 1–20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van Ittersum, M.J., ‘Hugo Grotius: The making of a founding father of the history of international law’, in Orford, A. and Hoffman, F. (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of the Theory of International Law (Oxford, 2016) 82–100.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wight, M., Four Seminal Thinkers in International Theory. Machiavelli, Grotius, Kant, and Mazzini, eds. Wight, G. and Porter, B. (Oxford, 2005).Google Scholar
Vollerthun, U., The Idea of International Society: Erasmus, Vitoria, Gentili and Grotius, ed. Richardson, J. L. (Cambridge, 2017).Google Scholar
Wilson, E., The Savage Republic: De Indis of Hugo Grotius, Republicanism, and Dutch Hegemony within the Early Modern World-System (c. 1600–1619) (Leiden, 2008).CrossRefGoogle Scholar

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