Martti Koskenniemi, the Mainstream, and Self-Reflectivity

Abstract

This article argues that contemporary international lawyers all sing the same critical refrain but few have really confronted and integrated the critical attitude deployed in From Apology to Utopia. After the denial and perplexity of the first encounters with Martti Koskenniemi's work, international lawyers came to feel that they have domesticated the perplexity provoked by it. They now all enthuse about the new self-reflectivity that their victorious struggle with From Apology to Utopia supposedly allowed them to acquire. In sum, the contemporary self-proclaimed self-reflective international lawyers, after reading From Apology to Utopia, have returned to business as usual, continuing to let the discipline's vocabulary decide on their behalf.

Practising reflexivity in international law: introducing a concept and the working paper series

“…65 Reflexivity, or the impression of reflexivity, might also lead to complacency. Writing in terms of self-reflectivity and the scholarly endeavor, Jean d'Aspremont begins by acknowledging that the '[s]ituatedness of foundational doctrines and legal arguments built thereon has even become a rather common object of inquiry', 66 which has translated into international lawyers developing 'greater methodological self-awareness'. 67 Yet, for d'Aspremont, this can also lead to the perception that particular struggles have been tamed, which risks paving the way for a return to 'business as usual'.…”

Perspective and Scale in the Architecture of International Legal History

“…33 In this way, the 'inevitable distortions are themselves a source of richness for … argumentation and thinking rather than an invalidating flaw.' 34 Another important facet of perspective concerns the use of sources. International legal historians agree that irrespective of the method chosen, international legal histories should not glorify or alter the past; rather, they should include rigorous research based on verifiable sources.…”