Papers by Claire Vergerio
Leiden Journal of International Law, 2022
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International Theory , 2019
While the discipline of International Relations (IR) has a long tradition of celebrating 'great t... more While the discipline of International Relations (IR) has a long tradition of celebrating 'great thinkers' and appropriating their ideas for contemporary theories, it has rarely accounted for how these authors came to be seen as 'great' in the first place. This is at least partly a corollary of the discipline's long-standing aversion to methodological reflection in its engagement with intellectual history, and it echoes IR's infamous tendency to misportray these great thinkers' ideas more broadly. Drawing on existing attempts to import the methodological insights of historians of political thought into International Relations, this article puts forward a unified approach to the study of great thinkers in IR that combines the tenets of so-called 'Cambridge School' contextualism with those of what broadly falls under the label of reception theory. I make the case for the possibility of developing a coherent methodology through the combination of what are often seen as separate strands of intellectual history, and for the value of such an approach in IR. In doing so, the article ultimately offers a more rigorous methodology for engaging with the thought of great thinkers in IR, for analyzing the way a specific author's ideas come to have an impact in practice, and for assessing the extent to which these ideas are distorted in the process.
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Journal of the History of International Law, 2017
Based on a detailed analysis of Gentili’s use of sources in De iure belli, this article argues th... more Based on a detailed analysis of Gentili’s use of sources in De iure belli, this article argues that Gentili’s famous treatise on the laws of war is an incongruous attempt at reconciling an absolutist conception of sovereignty and a strong penchant for reason of state principles with an enduring commitment to the language of natural law and to its centrality in ordering relations between sovereigns.
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Millennium
Abstract
While some denounce the legacies of colonialism they discern in the EU’s practices and ... more Abstract
While some denounce the legacies of colonialism they discern in the EU’s practices and discourse,
others believe these accusations to be unfounded, raising the question: how apt is the analogy
between the 19th-century standard of civilisation and the EU’s narratives and modes of actions
today? In this essay, we address the question by developing a ‘new standards typology’ articulated
around two axes: agency denial and hierarchy. These refer respectively to the unilateral shaping of
standards applicable to others, and to the salience of Eurocentricism in the way the standards are
enforced and structure the international system. Ultimately, we argue that in transforming their
‘continent’ from a metropolis to a microcosmos – from a cluster of colonial capitals to an EU
that contains many of the world’s tensions within itself – Europeans have only partially succeeded
in transcending their colonial impulses. We conclude by suggesting that the EU’s relevance is
grounded in its ability to become a post-colonial power, and that to achieve this, those acting in
its name need to remember historical legacies and reflect upon the ‘standards’ that inspire their
action.
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Book Chapters by Claire Vergerio
Routledge Handbook of Historical International Relations, 2021
The history of international law, sometimes referred to as the law of nations, is fundamentally e... more The history of international law, sometimes referred to as the law of nations, is fundamentally entwined with the history of the international system as a whole. The laws of war, for their part, constitute a sub-field of international law that has been of central importance to its historical development and that has attracted particular attention from scholars of international relations for whom war is a central object of study. This chapter constitutes a brief introduction to the literature on the history of international law and the laws of war, drawing on works across law, history, and international relations. It provides an overview of the conventional narratives about the history of international law and the laws of war, then of their main critical alternatives, and, finally, of the new approaches that have emerged to push these critical alternatives a step further.
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Oxford Handbook of History and International Relations
The Berlin Conference of 1884-1885 and the Hague Conferences of 1899 and 1907 occupy prominent po... more The Berlin Conference of 1884-1885 and the Hague Conferences of 1899 and 1907 occupy prominent positions in histories of international relations. The Hague Conferences are celebrated as a beacon of progressive thinking, embodying the attempt to limit the horrors of warfare through international law. The Berlin Conference, by contrast, is depicted as the epitome of European imperialism and of international law's role in it. As such, these conferences represent two conflicting understandings of the role of international law in the development of our modern world: one progressive and humanitarian, the other brutal and imperialistic. However, despite a widening body of works on these conferences, scholars have yet to meaningfully examine the links between the two. This chapter begins to do so, outlining where the scholarly debate currently stands with regards to both Berlin and The Hague before providing a preliminary foray into the various ways in which these conferences overlapped.
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Outreach by Claire Vergerio
Institute of Art and Ideas, 2024
Claire Vergerio and I wrote an essay about Israel, Palestine, and the history of the laws of war.
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Boston Review, 2021
Sovereign states have been mythologized as the natural unit of political order. History shows how... more Sovereign states have been mythologized as the natural unit of political order. History shows how new they are-and how we can think beyond them.
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Book Reviews by Claire Vergerio
Cambridge Review of International Affairs, 2021
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Völkerrechtsblog, 2021
Review of Lothar Brock & Hendrik Simon (eds.), The Justification of War and International Order (... more Review of Lothar Brock & Hendrik Simon (eds.), The Justification of War and International Order (OUP, 2021).
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Journal of the History of International Law
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Books by Claire Vergerio
Cambridge University Press, 2022
Who has the right to wage war? The answer to this question constitutes one of the most fundamenta... more Who has the right to wage war? The answer to this question constitutes one of the most fundamental organizing principles of any international order. Under contemporary international humanitarian law, this right is essentially restricted to sovereign states. It has been conventionally assumed that this arrangement derives from the ideas of the late-sixteenth century jurist Alberico Gentili. Claire Vergerio argues that this story is a myth, invented in the late 1800s by a group of prominent international lawyers who crafted what would become the contemporary laws of war. These lawyers reinterpreted Gentili's writings on war after centuries of marginal interest, and this revival was deeply intertwined with a project of making the modern sovereign state the sole subject of international law. By uncovering the genesis and diffusion of this narrative, Vergerio calls for a profound reassessment of when and with what consequences war became the exclusive prerogative of sovereign states.
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Papers by Claire Vergerio
While some denounce the legacies of colonialism they discern in the EU’s practices and discourse,
others believe these accusations to be unfounded, raising the question: how apt is the analogy
between the 19th-century standard of civilisation and the EU’s narratives and modes of actions
today? In this essay, we address the question by developing a ‘new standards typology’ articulated
around two axes: agency denial and hierarchy. These refer respectively to the unilateral shaping of
standards applicable to others, and to the salience of Eurocentricism in the way the standards are
enforced and structure the international system. Ultimately, we argue that in transforming their
‘continent’ from a metropolis to a microcosmos – from a cluster of colonial capitals to an EU
that contains many of the world’s tensions within itself – Europeans have only partially succeeded
in transcending their colonial impulses. We conclude by suggesting that the EU’s relevance is
grounded in its ability to become a post-colonial power, and that to achieve this, those acting in
its name need to remember historical legacies and reflect upon the ‘standards’ that inspire their
action.
Book Chapters by Claire Vergerio
Outreach by Claire Vergerio
Book Reviews by Claire Vergerio
Books by Claire Vergerio
While some denounce the legacies of colonialism they discern in the EU’s practices and discourse,
others believe these accusations to be unfounded, raising the question: how apt is the analogy
between the 19th-century standard of civilisation and the EU’s narratives and modes of actions
today? In this essay, we address the question by developing a ‘new standards typology’ articulated
around two axes: agency denial and hierarchy. These refer respectively to the unilateral shaping of
standards applicable to others, and to the salience of Eurocentricism in the way the standards are
enforced and structure the international system. Ultimately, we argue that in transforming their
‘continent’ from a metropolis to a microcosmos – from a cluster of colonial capitals to an EU
that contains many of the world’s tensions within itself – Europeans have only partially succeeded
in transcending their colonial impulses. We conclude by suggesting that the EU’s relevance is
grounded in its ability to become a post-colonial power, and that to achieve this, those acting in
its name need to remember historical legacies and reflect upon the ‘standards’ that inspire their
action.