BOOK: Robert SCHÜTZE & Mathias SIEMS (eds.) Comparative International Law. Foundations and Critique (London: Bloomsbury, 2026), 360 p. ISBN 9781509972395, 95 GBP

 

(image source: Bloomsbury)

Abstract:

The modern field of comparative international law emerged in the last century, but it still suffers from a lack of intellectual and methodological foundations. This ambitious collection fills that gap. It examines the key concepts of comparative international law, including its historical and critical perspectives. Contributors from a wide geographical range present their diverse and thought-provoking views on international and comparative law. This is a much-needed and cutting-edge book on an undervalued yet topical field of research.

Table of contents:

 Part I: Setting the Scene

1. Comparative International Law: State of the Art, Mathias Siems (European University Institute, Italy)
2. Comparative International Law: A Historical Re-Construction, Robert Schütze (Durham University, UK)

Part II: Historical and Comparative Perspectives
3. 'African' International Law, Kehinde Folake Olaoye (Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar)
4. 'American' International Law, Ríán Derrig (World Maritime University, Sweden)
5. China's Contemporary Approach to International Law, Ge Chen and Ming Du (Durham University, UK)
6. 'European' International Law: European Exceptionalism and Universalism in the Nineteenth-Century, Max H Mayer (University of Tübingen, Germany)
7. The Islamic Conception of International Law, Ayesha Shahid (Coventry University, UK)

Part III: Critical and Analytical Perspectives
8. Is Comparative International Law Really Comparative Law? A Methodological Critique, Saïda El Boudouhi (Université Paris 8 Vincennes Saint-Denis, France)
9. Comparative International Law: What's Next? Ugo Mattei (University of California San Francisco College of Law, USA) and Avi Singh (International University College of Turin, Italy)
10. Decolonising the Comparative Metrics of (Private) International Law, Horatia Muir Watt (Sciences Po Paris, France)
11. Science in Comparative International Law, Petra Minnerop (Durham University, UK)
12. Quantitative International Comparisons: A Tale of Missed Encounters, Marta Infantino (University of Trieste, Italy)
13. Global Law and Comparative International Law, Jaakko Husa (University of Helsinki, Finland)

Read more here.