Lands for the Taking: Neo-Imperialism, Sovereignty and the Unravelling of International Law

Core principles of the global order are under overt attack. The government of the USA’s ambitions to turn the Gaza Strip into the “Riviera of the Middle East”, to absorb Canada as the “51st state”, and to “acquire Greenland” all bear troubling parallels to imperial expansion by conquest, in violation of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of nation states and territories. This moment also unfolds alongside Russia’s continued territorial conquest in Ukraine since its full-scale invasion, with occupied land increasingly treated as a negotiable asset within putative “peace talks”, as well as recent US military actions against Venezuela, accompanied by explicit claims over its resources and announcements of an intention to effectively “run” the country for a period of time. These attacks on fundamental principles of international law are neither confined to a single actor nor reducible to the current political moment.

This panel explores contemporary challenges to the principle and exercise of sovereignty. It examines how international law responds to neo-imperial practices and asks whether law constrains, enables, or normalises these developments, including through doctrines, institutions and political processes that render territorial conquest, resource extraction and external governance legible and negotiable within the language of legality. It pays particular attention to the renewed global rush for resources.

Speakers: 

• Vasuki Nesiah, Professor, New York University
• Priya S. Gupta, Associate Professor, McGill University

Moderator: 

• Nico Krisch, Professor, Geneva Graduate Institute

This public panel is part of the conference “Lands for the Taking: (Neo-)Imperialism, Sovereignty and the Unravelling of International Law". 

Lys Kulamadayil, Ambizione Fellow