PODCAST: Scott Andrew KEEFER, "Building the Palace of Peace: The Hague Conference of 1907 and Arms Control before the World War" [Voices of JHIL]

 

Abstract:

In Episode 9 of the Voices of JHIL podcast, we once again turn to history to discuss timely and pressing questions. This time, Scott Andrew Keefer joins us to discuss his article “Building the Palace of Peace: The Hague Conference of 1907 and Arms Control before the World War,” published in JHIL 9(1) (2007), 35–81, which explores the international legal dynamics of the naval arms race of the early 20th century. From a comparative historical analysis of the multilateral failure of the 1907 Hague Conference and the bilateral success of the 1902 Argentine-Chilean Naval Armament Treaty, we move on to broader questions regarding international law’s capacity to respond to global security issues.

On the speaker:

Dr. Scott Andrew Keefer, Senior Lecturer in History at Bournemouth University. 

More information here. 

BOOK: Sandrine BAUME & David RAGAZZONI (eds.), Hans Kelsen on Constitutional Democracy Genesis, Theory, Legacies (Cambridge: CUP, 2026), ISBN 9781009230360 [OPEN ACCESS]

 

(image source: CUP)

Abstract:

This volume challenges conventional interpretations by demonstrating that Hans Kelsen was far from being a purely formalist thinker. Instead, it highlights his profound and enduring engagement with the threats facing constitutional democracies. The political and institutional upheavals of interwar Europe significantly influenced Kelsen's evolving vision of democracy, as this volume shows. His contributions to twentieth-century democratic theory include groundbreaking insights into multiparty systems, mechanisms of moderation, minority protections, and judicial review. Furthermore, Kelsen's reflections on the crises and collapses of democracies during the 1930s remain strikingly relevant, offering valuable perspectives on contemporary challenges such as polarisation and populism. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

Read the full book here: DOI 10.1017/9781009230360.

BOOK: Laury SARTI, Mediterranean Connections: The Frankish Kingdoms and the Roman Empire (476–756) [The Medieval Mediterranean, 145, eds. Frances ANDREWS, Paul MAGDALINO, Jo Van STEENBERGEN, Larry SIMON, Daniel Lord SMAIL, Corisande FENWICK & Maria G. PARANI] (Leiden/Boston: Brill, 2026), 240 p., ISBN: 978-90-04-74607-7, € 153.7

(image source: Brill)

Abstract:

This monograph challenges the idea that Roman imperial authority in the West ended in 476. It shows how the Frankish realm maintained ties to the empire, with real separation only emerging in the late sixth century. Tracing enduring Frankish-Byzantine diplomacy, shared identities, religious controversy, and trade into the seventh century, it reveals a landscape of continued exchange rather than abrupt decline. Including previously overlooked sources, the study offers a new perspective on Frankish identity, imperial affiliation, and the evolving relationship between Rome, the empire, and the Merovingians from the fifth to the eighth century.

On the author:

Laury Sarti, Ph.D. (2012), University of Hamburg, is Heisenberg Fellow at Heidelberg University.

Table of contents:

1. Introduction

     1.1 Outline and Questions

     1.2 Prior Research

     1.3 Approach and Methods

2. The Empire's Western Territories

     2.1 Odoacer and Theodoric

     2.2 One Empire

     2.3 476 in Retrospective

     2.4 The Empire and the West

     2.5 Results

3. Kings of the Empire

     3.1 Clovis and Theudebert I

     3.2 Romans and Franks in Gaul

     3.3 The Empire's Kingdom

     3.4 Franko-Byzantine Exchanges

     3.5 Factors of Alienation

     3.6 Results

4. Christian Community 

     4.1 The Pope between East and West

     4.2 The Tree Chapters Controversy 

     4.3 The Monothelite Controversy

     4.4 Results

5. Mediterranean Connectivity

     5.1 Diplomatic Exchange in a 'Dark Age'

     5.2 Pilgrimages to the East

     5.3 Travel Routes and Trade

     5.4 Language and Knowledge Exchange

     5.5 Results

6. Conclusions

Find more on Brill.

BOOK: Bianca PREMO, La Ilustración a juicio. Litigantes y colonialismo en el imperio español [Historia del Derecho en América Latina, 1ª Edición] (México: Tirant lo Blanch, 2026), 514 p., ISBN 9788491198727

(image source: Tirant)

Abstract:

Este libro examina cómo las ideas ilustradas se pusieron a prueba en el mundo cotidiano de la justicia iberoamericana entre las personas esclavizadas e indígenas, y entre las mujeres del siglo XVIII. Se centra en los tribunales civiles, tanto en América como en España, como espacios clave de debate sobre los derechos naturales, la expansión de la esfera secular, el historicismo y la libertad.  El libro enseña cómo leer el archivo judicial para sacar a la luz las ideas de personas no letradas, y redibuja la geografía de la modernidad para replantear el origen de nociones habitualmente atribuidas a Europa del Norte.  Al entablar un diálogo con la historia del derecho, la historia intelectual y la historia social, subraya cómo la práctica legal transformó filosofías abstractas en herramientas prácticas. En conjunto, ofrece una reinterpretación poderosa de la Ilustración como un fenómeno forjado en el derecho colonial.

On the author:

Bianca Premo es Profesora Distinguida Universitaria de Historia en la Florida International University, en Miami, Estados Unidos.

Table of contents:

Introducción ¿Por qué es Ilustración?       

Ilustración sin el siglo XVIII        

Escritura, historia y escritura de la historia del Imperio español       

La república de los iletrados        

Una definición        

Verificable y refutable: Un panorama del libro       

Método comparativo        

Regiones       

Periodo de tiempo        

Casos y litigantes         

PARTE I: LIMONES Y LIMONADA: DEMANDAR EN EL IMPERIO ESPAÑOL

1. Agentes y poderes. Litigantes y escritores en los tribunales        

Poderes: Papel y protocolo        

Agentes: autoría y opciones de los litigantes        

“Dios no paga”        

Conclusión         

2. Derecho y Ley: Ilustración jurídica en la filosofía y las políticas      

El árbol de limones: Ilustración jurídica ecléctica        

Limones: Derecho moderno temprano en el Imperio español        

El árbol: Pensamiento jurídico de la ilustración        

Jurisprudencia colonial        

Bravo de Lagunas y la jurisdicción secular        

Bravo de Lagunas y la esclavitud        

Leyes sobre leyes        

“Desembarazados y libres”: Leyes sobre eficiencia judicial        

Jueces de bronce        

El crecimiento de la jurisdicción secular   

Agentes y poderes revisados        

Conclusión         

3. Números y valores: Conteo de casos en el imperio español        

Números        

Conteo de casos        

Conteo de causas        

Valores        

La cultura orientada a la justicia de los Montes de Toledo        

Umbrales y puertas: Las demandas de los subordinados coloniales 

Conclusión        

PARTE II: LUCES A PARTIR DE LITIGANTES 

4. Pleitos y demandas. Conflictos conyugales en tribunales civiles    

Justicia        

Derechos        

Una breve historia sobre los alimentos     

Secularización e individualidad: Jurisdicción y disputas maritales      

Derechos naturales y otras fuentes de derecho        

Los casos civiles de las mujeres como Ilustración        

Conclusión         

5. Ayer y hoy. Estatus y costumbres indígenas        

Ayer            

Armonía y justicia        

La lengua de la ley: Disputas legales en lengua zapoteca        

Hoy                

El mérito o la nueva ciencia del estatus    

Costumbre hoy        

Casos civiles indígenas como Ilustración   

Conclusión         

6. Ser y devenir: Libertad y demandas de esclavos        

El comienzo de la libertad: Periodización e historiografía        

Fines de las demandas por esclavitud       

Jurisprudencia        

Los esclavos en los tribunales eclesiásticos y civiles        

Del amparo a los papeles        

Autoconservación y sevicia        

La personalidad jurídica de los esclavos   

“La libertad que requieran los juicios”       

La etapa de libertad         

Conclusión: Los litigios de esclavos como Ilustración        

Conclusión. ¿Por qué no Ilustración?

Find more on: Tirant.

CONFERENCE: 'Il Controllo: Riflessioni interdisciplinari su sicurezza, libertà, democrazia e giustizia penale' (Badia San Piero: Hotel Monteconero, 22-23 MAY 2026)[hybrid]

 (Source: Unimc)

More information available here.

BOOK: Niels FIEREMANS, Law, Leverage, and Litigation in Late Medieval Bruges. Foreign Merchants in a City of Justice (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2025), 248 p. ISBN 9781399545860, 90 GBP [OPEN ACCESS]

 

(image source: Edinburgh UP)

Abstract:

Explores the interaction between law and commerce in late medieval Bruges and its impact on the concept of justice Takes an interdisciplinary approach and engages in the debates of commercial history and legal history Draws on extensive archival material from across Europe Challenges the notion that a commercial city tailored its system to merchants Contributes to the field of customary law where scholars diverge from the previous theoretical law treaties and look to what happened in the more practical sources e.g. Litigation records Illustrated with examples to demonstrate key concepts and ideas Late medieval Bruges was a commercial hub that connected Hanseatic, English, Scottish, Portuguese, Spanish, Aragonese, and Italian traders. This book focuses on the conflict resolution of the aldermen and how merchants operated within this legal framework. The key question being whether Bruges was a city of justice. Although this was sometimes claimed by travellers, a lot of merchants confronted with the practicalities of conflict resolution in Bruges, disagreed. Fieremans analyses how customary law, institutional frameworks, and commerce intersected and were challenged by the aldermen's pursuit of justice. By clarifying the working of the aldermen, it advances our knowledge of the basic mechanisms of a late medieval law court and the evolution of the law courts of late medieval Flanders. Taking an interdisciplinary approach, the book focuses on the interplay between commerce and justice, explores the diverse merchant communities, and considers the potential lessons it offers for understanding both historical and modern markets. It sheds light on the pragmatic legal culture of Bruges and the legal mechanisms that partially regulate commerce.

Table of contents: 

Introduction: Historiography and Contribution

Part I. Law. The legal framework of late medieval Bruges

1. The procedures of the aldermen
2. The usage of procedures
3. The goal of these procedures

Part 2. Leverage. The group strategies to adapt the framework

1. The strategy of economic leverage: the Hanseatic, English and Scottish community
2. The strategy of political leverage: the Iberian communities
3. Strategies without privileges: the Italian communities

Part 3. Litigation. The individual strategies adapting the framework

1. The Council of Flanders and Bruges.
2. Supralocal courts. The Great Council and the Parliament of Paris
3. The end of Bruges legal dominance

Conclusion

Read the book in open access here. 

AWARDS: American Society for Legal History (DEADLINE 1 JUN 2026)

(image source: ACLS)

The American Society for Legal History announces several awards (among which the Global Dissertation Prize, the Cromwell Dissertation Prize and the Max Planck-ASLH Dissertation Prize for European Legal History in Global Perspective).

More information on the Society's website.

CALL FOR ARTICLES: Rechtskultur. Zeitschrift für Europäische Rechtsgeschichte - European Journal of Legal History - Journal européen d'histoire du droit (2025-2026 and 2026-2027)

(image source: Rechtskultur)

Rechtskultur is open to authors of all recognized areas of study irrespective of their university status. All that matters is that an article be of very high quality and in tune with the theme of the respective journal. 

Future topics of the annual journal will be:

• 2025/2026:  Shifts in Methodological Approaches to Law (Deadline August 2026)
• 2026/2027: The legal framework of innovation (Deadline August 2027)

Read more here.

BOOK: Christiaan ENGBERTS, Decentering Leuven University. A Transnational History (Leuven: Leuven University Press, 2026), 328 p. ISBN 9789462705081 [OPEN ACCESS]

 

(image source: Leuven University Press)

Abstract:

First longue durée transnational history of a university, surveying its cross-border ties and offering a new model for writing university history. Since its foundation in 1425, Leuven University has always been a transnational institution. Decentering Leuven University explores how this transnational character has shaped the university across six centuries, with cross-border ties emerging as a recurring theme throughout its history from the Middle Ages to the present day. However, these ties are more than just a recurring theme: they provide an innovative approach to writing university history. Taking the myriad cross-border ties as a methodological starting point makes it possible to view the history of the university from a new perspective. The rich variety of these ties highlights the complexity and diversity within the university. The author discusses, among other things, Leuven’s role as a center of European humanism in the 15th century, the significance of its Irish and Dutch mission colleges during the Counter-Reformation, the university’s more recent involvement in the Belgian colonial project, and the emergence of research institutes as hubs of transnational collaboration in the 20th century. Emphasizing these transnational ties leads to two forms of decentering the university’s history: it underscores the university’s embeddedness in a variety of cross-border networks, and it highlights the role of individual scholars, students, colleges, and research institutes in creating and maintaining these ties.

Table of contents: 

Introduction
Universities, jubilees, and transnational ties
Introduction
The first university jubilees
Writing university history
Histories of Leuven University
The university in a transnational landscape
Leuven University from 1425 to 2025

Chapter 1
The transnational character of the early university
Introduction
Medieval universities before 1500
University, religion, and politics
The foundation of Leuven University
The recruitment of professors
Determining the geographical background of the early staff
The geographical background of professors in church law
The geographical background of professors in civil law
The geographical background of professors in medicine
The geographical background of professors in theology
The geographical background of professors in the arts
Determining the educational background of the early staff
The educational background of professors in church law
The educational background of professors in civil law
The educational background of professors in medicine
The educational background of professors in theology
The educational background of professors in the arts
A life after Leuven?
Conclusion: becoming self-sufficient
 Chapter 2
Humanist entanglements
Introduction
Vives and Erasmus: Leuven’s early humanist luminaries
The networks of Vives and Erasmus
Humanism in Leuven before 1517
The foundation of the Collegium Trilingue
The (trans)national teaching staff of the Trilingue
A typical humanist: the research-minded traveler Campensis
A typical humanist: the printing endeavors of Rutgerus Rescius
A typical humanist: Petrus Nannius’s correspondence network
European students at the Trilingue
Trilingue students in Europe: the linguist Clenardus
Trilingue students in Europe: the diplomat Busbequius
Trilingue students in Europe: the anatomist Vesalius
An example worth following
Conclusion: a merging of university and humanist networks

Chapter 3
On the frontlines of faith
Introduction
Counter-Reformation and higher education in the seventeenth century
Leuven and the Irish college network
Irish history from Leuven
Irish Catholicism in Leuven
The precarious position of Catholicism in the northern Low Countries
Jesuits vs. Dutch secular clergy
Jesuits and the Leuven Augustinian tradition
Jesuits and Jansenists
St. Anthony’s, Pulcheria, and Alticollense
Toward the founding of an American College
The accomplishments of the American College
Leuven as an example of Catholicism and scholarship
Latin America in Leuven
Over four centuries of mission colleges

Chapter 4
Collections as transnational spaces
Leuven’s first central library
Catholic patristics and ecumenical medicine?
Collections, teaching, and research in the nineteenth century
The university collections in the mid-nineteenth century
The roots of the botanical garden
The botanical garden’s transnational branches
The birth of the zoological collection
Van Beneden’s transnational paleontological networks
The genesis of the Biblical Museum
A network of scholarly clergymen
The destruction of the library
International collaboration toward a new library
Reassembling the lost collection
The construction of a brand-new library
University collections and transnational networks

Chapter 5
The colonial involvement of Leuven University
Universities and colonialism
The first colonial programs at Belgian universities
A Catholic colonial student movement
Collecting the colony
After the First World War
First steps into the colony
The early expansion of FOMULAC: 1926-1931
The rapid expansion of FOMULAC: 1931-1945
Agricultural education in the Congo
Toward a university: University Centre Lovanium
The founding of a full university: Lovanium Kimwenza
Lovanium and Leuven University after Congolese independence
Leuven and Congo: a retrospective

Chapter 6
Research institutes as transnational hubs
The rise of research institutes
The Higher Institute of Philosophy
The laboratory for experimental psychology
The founding of the Husserl Archives
The growth of the Husserl Archives
Penicillin and the prelude to the Rega Institute
Polio vaccines and the founding of the Rega Institute
Developing viral treatments at the Rega Institute
Bananas come to Belgium
Banana research, conservation, and distribution in Leuven
The KU Leuven Institutes of the twenty-first century
Conclusion: research institutes between 1938 and 2025

Epilogue
Uniqueness and typicality
Change and continuity
Recent transnational developments
The merits and promise of transnational university histories
Notes

On the author:

Christiaan Engberts studied philosophy and history at Leiden University. Until recently he was affiliated with the Research Group Cultural History since 1750 at KU Leuven.

Read more here: DOI  10.11116/9789461667274.

ADVANCE ARTICLE: Julia RUDOLPH, "William Blackstone, Family Man: New Contexts in Gender, Jurisprudence, and Jamaica" (Law & History Review) [OPEN ACCESS]

 

(image source: Cambridge Core)

Abstract:

While much has been written about William Blackstone, the jurist, politician, and legal writer, this article provides a critical new understanding of Blackstone, the husband, friend, and investor. It considers Blackstone’s legal and economic actions as well as ideas, analyzing his strategies for managing family wealth and comparing them to the strategies employed by a member of his extended family who was a Jamaican planter. Here, the article contributes to recent scholarship on the global dimensions of English and British legal history. It offers a fuller account of Blackstone’s proximity to the colonial plantation economy by investigating how economic change and imperial controversies impacted his personal and professional life. It also exposes Blackstone’s conventionally masculine bias by detailing the different ways in which he privileged male interests when making personal investment choices and when coming to judicial decisions about women’s property claims. A gendered ideology, which positioned male authority as central to the success of the household, state, and empire, furnished the framework within which Blackstone justified the operation of law and directed his own actions as head of his family. Placing Blackstone’s jurisprudence and experience within the contexts of patriarchy and colonialism, the article sheds new light on this influential figure, showing how he embodied the core features of an eighteenth-century family man and shaped modern ideas about male authority, property, and power.

The full article can be read here in open access: DOI 10.1017/S0738248026101618.

(Source: Legal History Blog)

NOTICE: PhD Defenses in Legal History [Association des Historiens des Facultés de Droit] (Paris/Nantes, APR/MAY 2026)

 

(image source: AssoHFD)

The Association des Historiens des Faculté de Droit reported the PhD Defenses of

• Baptiste ROBAGLIA (Paris II Panthéon-Assas), Un humaniste au Palais : Étienne Pasquier (1529-1615), penseur d’un droit national (dir. Philippe COCATRE-ZILGIEN & Xavier PRÉVOST) (10 April 2026)
• Ambre JARASSIER (Nantes Université), Les sénatus-consultes napoléoniens, entre constituer et légiférer (dir; Grégoire BIGOT) (5 May 2026)

More information on the jury composition can be found by clicking on the links above.

JOURNAL: Journal of the History of International Law/Revue d'histoire du droit international XXVIII (2026), nr. 1 (May)

 

(image source: Brill)

Localising Civil Wars International Law, the Spanish Civil War, and the Institutionalisation of ‘Non-Intervention’ (Rémi Fuhrmann)
DOI 10.1163/15718050-12340234
Abstract:

The non-intervention policy adopted by European Powers during the Spanish Civil War is often relegated as a matter of realpolitik in which international law, if relevant at all, was only disregarded. This article posits that the non-intervention agreement (NIA) and its institutionalisation were an attempt to redefine the relationship between international law and civil war. However, the so-called non-intervention system and its underlying discourse of localisation, developed in the context of the Spanish civil war, were as much a legal innovation as they were a reactionary project subordinated to the interests and will of the powerful states. Through an ostensibly neutral international legal language which put the insurgents and the established government on the same a-legal footing in order to ‘localise’ the Spanish civil war, the discourse of localisation eventually failed in providing European powers a legal and technical escape out of the politics on the interwar period. Far from illustrating any inherent deficiency of the work of legal creativity in the context of collective security mechanisms, the exploration of the NIA rather points towards the banal and continuous problem of the monopolisation by a few states of the ability and authority to imagine and implement legal innovation.

On Creating a Space Power The United States, International Law, and the Shaping of Outer Space in the 1950s and 1960s (Eleni Ilia)
DOI: 10.1163/15718050-12340233
Abstract:

This article critically examines the early development of space law during the formative 1950s and 1960s, revealing how legal, diplomatic, and political forces converged to shape both the international governance of outer space and the emergence of the United States as the dominant space power. Moving beyond conventional narratives that celebrate space law as a triumph of multilateral cooperation, the article argues that early space law functioned as a strategic ‘world-making’ tool that constructed myths, narratives, and imaginaries that framed outer space not merely as a new physical domain but as a geopolitical canvas embodying Cold War power dynamics. Central to this process was the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS), alongside key US lawyer-diplomats, who crafted legal principles that advanced American diplomatic and strategic interests while shaping global perceptions of space as the final frontier. By analysing archival records, diplomatic exchanges, and legal texts, the article reveals how competing worldviews and interests influenced early space law’s content and institutional design. It highlights the interplay between bilateral negotiations among superpowers and multilateral deliberations, exposing how unresolved legal questions were strategically postponed or reframed to maintain US influence. Ultimately, the article contends that space law’s origins were neither neutral nor inevitable but were actively produced by powerful actors weaving ideological projects into the fabric of international law. This legacy continues to inform contemporary debates on space governance, underscoring the enduring significance of early Cold War legal and political imaginaries.

The Beginnings of International Nature Conservation Law with the Svalbard (Spitsbergen) Treaty of 1920 A Transnational Initiative of European Natural and Legal Scientists (Julian Lubini)
DOI: 10.1163/15718050-bja10143
Abstract:

This article describes the genesis of Article 2 of the Svalbard Treaty of 1920. This convention, which came into force 100 years ago on 14 August 1925, not only subjects this Arctic Archipelago to the sovereignty of Norway, but also contains an agreement on nature conservation that, for the first time, is truly international, multilateral and global in protecting nature for its own sake. This article examines this special aspect of the history of international law using contemporary literature and archival sources. Particular attention is paid to previous initiatives by experts from various disciplines and national origins to protect Arctic nature. The project can be seen as a milestone in international nature conservation law, which was originally driven by efforts in Germany and Sweden in particular and was then enforced by Norway and the United States after the First World War. It is also regarded as paradigmatic for the formation of new international regimes, a feature that came to typify modern international law in its capacity to regulate specific interests and challenges.

Book reviews

•  Relations internationales et droit(s). Acteurs, institutions et législations comparées (1815–1914), edited by Raphaël Cahen, Sara L. Kimble, Pierre Allorant, Walter Badier and P. Sean Morris (Eliana Augusti)
• The Holy Alliance. Liberalism and the Politics of Federation, written by Isaac Nakhimovsky (Raphaël Cahen)

Read more with Brill.

REMINDER: Call for Nomination 2025 ESIL IG History of International Law Article Prize (ESIL Interest Group History of International Law) [DEADLINE 30 JUN 2026]

 

(image source: ESIL IGHIL)

The ESIL IG History of International Law invites nominations of an article with major impact on international legal history, published in 2023–2025 (English/French only).

Key rules:

• Nominated articles must focus on history and international law.
• No self-nominations.
• One nomination per person only.
• Submit via institutional email to esil.ighilprize@gmail.com with subject:

                    [FirstName_SURNAME_Paper title], + PDF of nominated article attached.

More details, including in French, about the prize can be found in our previous announcements.

Conveners

Anastasia Hammerschmied – Florenz Volkaert – Sze Hong Lam – Monica Garcia-Salmones

(source: ESIL IGHL)

BOOK: Nicolas RUIZ, Mariage et patrimoine dans la Lorraine du XVIIIe siècle [Histoire des temps modernes, ed. Lucien BÉLY, 13] (Paris: Classiques Garnier, 2026), 547 p. ISBN 9782406199700, €49

(image source: Classiques Garnier)

Prix Favard de Langlade 2022 de l’IIHN (Institut supérieur de l’histoire du notariat) et Prix de thèse établissement 2022 de l’université de Lorraine

Abstract:

Alors que l’ancien droit lorrain donnait au mari des pouvoirs menaçant sérieusement les droits de la femme, les actes du XVIIIe siècle mettent en évidence que les couples étaient soucieux du sort du survivant et que ceux qui passaient un contrat de mariage souhaitaient protéger les enfants du premier lit.

 Read more here: DOI 10.48611/isbn.978-2-406-19972-4.

 

VACANCY: Three PhD Positions in Legal History and Early Modern International Law (Brussels: Vrije Universiteit Brussel - VUB, DEADLINE: 8 JULY 2026)

(image source: VUB)

The European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator Grant project TREATYLAB – “The Labyrinth of Treaties: International Law Behind the Scenes of Early Enlightenment Diplomacy, 1712–1763” at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) is currently recruiting three fully funded full-time PhD researchers in the fields of legal history, diplomatic history, and early modern international law.

Hosted at the Faculty of Law and Criminology (Department Metajuridica), the project investigates the intellectual and practical foundations of eighteenth-century diplomacy through a substantial corpus of handwritten memoranda preserved at the Archives diplomatiques of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs in La Courneuve (France).

Each doctoral position combines:
• archival and doctrinal research
• participation in a large-scale digitisation project
• preparation of a doctoral dissertation (monograph)
• publication in peer-reviewed journals
• active collaboration within an international ERC research team

The research team consists of the Principal Investigator, a postdoctoral researcher, and three PhD researchers.

Available PhD projects:

(1) PhD1 – “They Called it Peace? The Use of Force and the Cycle of Truces, 1712–1763”
Focus: ius ad bellum, use of force, diplomatic legal argumentation.
PhD1 vacancy announcement 

(2) PhD2 – “The Latin and Atlantic Bond? Bourbon Law of Nations in Europe and America, 1712–1763”
Focus: Franco-Spanish relations, Bourbon diplomacy, law of nations, empire and trade.
PhD2 vacancy announcement 

(3) PhD3 – “Doctrine and Practice: Early Enlightenment Doctrine and Practical Legal Writing, 1712–1763”
Focus: the role of legal doctrine (Roman law, law of nations, public law, private law, etc.) in diplomatic practice.
PhD3 vacancy announcement

Eligibility:
Applicants should hold a Master’s degree in Law or History.

Conditions and benefits include:
• full-time doctoral scholarship (initial 12 months, extendable up to 48 months upon positive evaluation)
• expected starting date: 1 October 2026
• extensive home-working possibilities
• generous leave arrangements
• reimbursement of public transport commuting costs
• research training opportunities and an international academic environment

Application deadline: 8 July 2026

Applications should be submitted via the VUB academic vacancies website and must include:
• CV
• motivation letter
• diploma (not applicable for VUB alumni)

The selection procedure consists of: (1) an initial selection based on the application file; and (2) job interview

Further information on the project is available at: TREATYLAB project website & VUB academic vacancies website

SUMMER SCHOOL: Régulations économiques et économies informelles aux époques médiévale et moderne [14e école d'été d'histoire économique] (Susa, 25-27 AUG 2026) [DEADLINE 25 MAY 2026]

 

(image source: CTHDIP)

Abstract:

La 14e école d’été d’histoire économique qui se réunira à Suse (Piémont, Italie) les 25, 26 et 27 août 2026 aura pour thème « Régulations économiques et économies informelles aux époques médiévale et moderne ». Cette thématique permettra de poursuivre et d’approfondir celles qui ont été développées les années précédentes (la valeur des choses, la pauvreté, les biens communs, les moyens de paiement, la qualité, l’organisation du travail, les écritures de l’économie, entreprendre, la circulation des savoirs, le risque, les espaces du commerce, les économies de la nature, la guerre). La 14e école d’été d’histoire économique se propose d’aborder le thème fondamental de la régulation qui englobe pour les économistes l’ensemble des règles explicites ou implicites qui organisent et encadrent la production, l’échange et la consommation. La notion englobe ainsi la question de la fixation et de la formation des prix, les contrôles de qualité et de quantité ainsi que la mesure de la valeur. C’est par conséquent une notion qui englobe l’ensemble de la sphère économique. Son existence entraîne, par antithèse, l’existence d’une sphère informelle, qui échappe ou tente d’échapper à toute forme d’organisation ou de contrôle. Bien que la notion soit utilisée essentiellement par les économistes, elle s’applique également les époques médiévale et moderne.

Objectives and nature:

La nature du thème implique, outre la mobilisation d’historiens médiévistes et modernistes, la présence d’économistes et de juristes. De même, dans le cadre de notre partenariat avec les Archives Nationales, la participation d’un ou deux conservateurs rappelle la richesse des fonds des AN en lien avec la thématique de l’année. La méthode proposée est de faire présenter une série d’exposés par des spécialistes et de les mettre en débat. Elle permet également de faire dialoguer médiévistes et modernistes et comparer l’avancée de leurs réflexions sur un thème donné, voire d’infléchir les doctrines. Le but poursuivi est d’approfondir nos connaissances et nos réflexions tout en permettant à des doctorants ou à des postdoctorants de s’associer aux travaux par une participation active. La partition des doctorants et postdoctorants prendra la forme d’exposés et de prises de paroles dans le débat suivant les interventions.

Thematic description:

En économie, la régulation englobe l’ensemble des règles explicites ou implicites qui organisent et encadrent la production, l’échange et la consommation. La notion englobe ainsi la question de la fixation et de la formation des prix, les contrôles de qualité et de quantité ainsi que la mesure de la valeur. C’est par conséquent une notion qui englobe l’ensemble de la sphère économique. Son existence entraîne, par antithèse, l’existence d’une sphère informelle, qui échappe ou tente d’échapper à toute forme d’organisation ou de contrôle. Bien que la notion soit utilisée essentiellement par les économistes, elle s’applique également les époques médiévale et moderne. Par exemple, les tentatives carolingiennes de fixation des prix sont passées par une profonde réforme monétaire, par une redéfinition de la métrologie et par des formes d’encadrement des pratiques commerciales. Le second Moyen Âge a vu le développement des organisations de métiers qui, encadrant la production et définissant les qualités, ont caractérisé la vie économique jusqu’à la Révolution française avec la définition et l’octroi de privilèges. Le champ d’application de la notion concerne évidemment aussi la sphère fiscale, des catégories sociales et des produits particuliers étant taxés de façon spécifique ou, au contraire, exemptés. La noblesse et le clergé ne paient que peu ou pas d’impôts. Des produits comme le sel sont en revanche lourdement grevés. D’une façon qui n’est pas étonnante, ces ensembles de règlements, de normes et d’avantages qui veulent créer de l’ordre dans le domaine économique suscitent des pratiques déviantes concernant les modalités de l’échange (fraudes sur les prix, utilisation de mauvaises voire de fausses monnaies, mesures non approuvées par des autorités seigneuriales ou communales) ou de la production (fraudes sur la qualité des produits, sur les modalités de la fabrication dans le cas du textile). Les exemples abondent et l’existence de fraudes est avérée ; elles posent la question de l’efficacité des contrôles professionnels, étatiques ou seigneuriaux. La question de l’introduction des innovations dans le cadre d’économies fortement régulées et contrôlées comme celles des époques médiévale et moderne est aussi d’une importance extrême. Question d’histoire économique, la régulation économique et son corollaire l’économie informelle permettent de poser la question des cadres juridiques et moraux du développement de l’Occident latin du haut Moyen Âge à l’époque moderne en étudiant par exemple la définition de la propriété, les relations contractuelles, et le développement des juridictions civiles et commerciales. L’école d’été permettra de faire le point sur les recherches menées dans ces directions par les générations actuelles de chercheurs et de doctorants. Elle permettra de faire le point sur les questions liées à l’organisation des métiers ainsi qu’à celles liées aux échanges qu’ils soient commerciaux, dans le cadre de marchés institués, ou non commerciaux dans celui d’économies qui restent largement dominées par l’autoconsommation et la production familiale. Par ailleurs, elle permettra aussi de s’informer sur les recherches en cours sur le poids des banalités dans le cadre de l’économie seigneuriale et sur les normes sociales encadrant les pratiques de production et d’échanges. L’apport des doctorants et des post doctorants sera ici essentiel dans le partage de l’information sur les renouvellements en cours.

 Sessions:

1. L’historiographie médiévale et moderne
2. Le point de vue des économistes et des juristes
3. Régulation et encadrement des marchés
4. Régulation de l’innovation
5. Règlement des contentieux
6. Contournements : l’illicite et l’informel
7. Espace et territoire : encadrer et contrôler
ainsi que trois sessions de doctorants et post-doctorants.

Procedure:

Des places sont disponibles pour les jeunes chercheurs – doctorants ou post-doctorants – en histoire économique médiévale ou moderne, en économie, sociologie, géographie ou archéologie. Les langues de travail étant l’anglais et le français, les candidats devront avoir une connaissance minimale des deux langues (l’expression orale se fera dans la langue de son choix). Il sera demandé aux candidats une communication orale de 20 minutes en rapport avec le sujet des journées. Cette communication se fera à partir de la présentation d’un fonds d’archives ou d’une source d’histoire économique qui a été au cœur de leur recherche. L’organisation prendra en charge l’intégralité des frais de séjour lors des journées. Les frais de déplacement (aller-retour) seront remboursés jusqu’à 200 euros. Le nombre des places étant limité, les candidatures seront examinées et sélectionnées par le comité scientifique de la manifestation. Le dossier (en anglais ou en français) comprendra : – Un curriculum vitae détaillé – Une présentation (2 pages minimum) du sujet de doctorat, des sources utilisées et de la communication orale envisagée. Les dossiers de candidature sont à envoyer avant le 25 mai 2026 (réponse le 1 juin) à Emmanuel Huertas (Univ. Toulouse Jean-Jaurès) : emmanuel.huertas@univ-tlse2.fr

Scientific committee:

Anne-Laure Alard-Bonhoure | Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, LAMOP Michela Barbot | CNRS/ENS Paris-Saclay, IDHE.S Patrice Baubeau | Université Paris Nanterre, IDHE.S Marc Bompaire | École pratique des Hautes Études, SAPRAT Julie Claustre | Université Paris-Cité, Echelles Anne Conchon  | Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, IDHE.S Laurent Feller | Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, LAMOP Alessio Fiore | Université de Turin Florent Garnier | Univ. Toulouse Capitole, CTHDIP Agnès Gramain | Université de Lorraine, BETA Jérôme Hayez | CNRS, LAMOP Emmanuel Huertas | Université Toulouse Jean Jaurès, FRAMESPA Jean-François Moufflet | Archives Nationales Cédric Quertier | CNRS, EFR

Associated research centres:

LAMOP (UMR 8589, Paris 1, CNRS) FRAMESPA (UMR 5136, Toulouse Jean-Jaurès, CNRS) IDHE.S (UMR 8533, Paris 1, Paris Nanterre, ENS Paris-Saclay, CNRS) ECHELLES (UMR 8264, Paris Cité, CNRS) BETA (UMR 7522, Strasbourg, Lorraine, INRAE, CNRS) CTHDIP (EA 789, Univ. Toulouse Capitole) École française de Rome (EfR). La manifestation se déroule sous le patronage de l’Association Française d’Histoire économique (AFHé).

Associated institutions:

Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne Université de Toulouse Jean-Jaurès Université de Turin Université Paris Cité Université Toulouse Capitole Archives Nationales IUF CNRS

More information here.