The Department of Legal and Constitutional History and the African Law Association jointly invite scholars to
participate in the interdisciplinary conference on the topic “Beyond
Development: Mapping Legal Entanglements between Africa and Europe”, which will
take place from 4 to 5 December 2025 at the Faculty of Law of
the University of Vienna, Austria.
The event
will also be the 49th Annual Conference of the African Law Association.
Outline of the
Conference
The Portuguese colonies in Africa gained their
independence 50 years ago. Although colonialism in Africa was by no means over
in 1975, this date is regarded in global history as an important turning point
for the political and legal independence of the African continent. The
conference aims to mark this anniversary by reflecting on the past and considering
the future from a legal perspective.
We invite contributions, firstly, about the
relationships between the newly independent states and the former colonial
empires at the intergovernmental (international law), diplomatic and economic
levels, as well as in international organizations. The conference aims to
provide a forum for discussing postcolonial criticism directed at outdated
romanticization of development, on the one hand, and simplistic narratives of
progress on the other. Which conclusions and assessments can be reached when
using law as a criterion for analysis?
Secondly, the conference focuses on legal
developments since independence and is interested in both grand narratives and
micro-studies. The focus is on the topics of constitutional law and reform,
regional inner-African legal integration, the regulation of the environment and
the economy, human rights, and developments in private law in African
countries, also in relation to non-state law.
Thirdly, we explicitly invite conceptual work; conventional
descriptions and categories in these areas should be subjected to critical
re-reading. The focus here is on interdependencies between Europe and Africa.
This also includes the question of the extent to which legal developments on
the African continent have triggered reforms in former colonial empires. We are
particularly interested in the migration of ideas and people, the African
diaspora in the former empires, and non-state networks as actors in the past
and present of law.
Panels
When
submitting your contribution, please indicate one or more of the following
panels to which your topic should be assigned:
Panel 1: Legal entanglements between Africa and Europe
Panel 2: Postcolonial legal systems and non-state law
Panel 3: Regional integration, international organizations and
international law
Panel 4: Constitution-making and constitutional reform
Panel 5: Environmental and economic regulation, human rights
Submission
Please submit your abstract in PDF
format to lawinafrica.rechtsgeschichte@univie.ac.at and include the following:
- Title of the submitted paper
- Panel to which the paper should be assigned
- Abstract of 250–500
words
- Name(s) of the
author(s)
- Affiliation(s) of
the author(s)
Please note: The language for submitted
contributions and of the conference is English. Manuscripts should be original
contributions, and by submitting a paper, you accept that the organizers expect
you to contribute a corresponding article to the conference proceedings!
The
organizers will apply for funding to help cover travel and accommodation costs,
especially for researchers from the Global South. However, we will only be able
to confirm the extent of cost coverage at a later stage, so participants should
be prepared in principle to cover their own costs.
Timeline
Abstract submission deadline 28
February 2025
Notification sent to participants 17 March
2025
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