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Call for Papers: Challenging the Rule of Law - The African Laboratory
VAD Conference 2020 "Africa Challenges“, 7-11 June 2021, Frankfurt am Main
Virtual conference from 7 to 11 June 2021 (Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, Germany).
Panel 08: Challenging the Rule of Law: The African Laboratory
Beginning in the second half of the twentieth century, international rule of law interventions in postcolonies have become a central part of an emerging global justice and human rights regime. The African continent has been the main laboratory in which this instrument has been applied, tested and transformed. Examples are interventions of international criminal justice institutions in Africa, the facilitation of national constitution-making processes, the implementation of security sector reforms, the promotion of various human rights programs and other legalized and legalistic forms of development policies. Many in Africa and beyond view the implementation of international rule of law regimes as an illegitimate and neo-colonial North-South intervention and there is a call for “African justice” instead of “Western justice”. Such counter-movements include the African Union’s attempt to create an African criminal court, the rise of alternative (neo-)traditional justice systems, and a growing movement of decolonial approaches to law and statehood in academic discourses. International rule of law interventions have become a major trope in discourses on peace and security as well as wider issues of law, rights, and governance in Africa and beyond. This panel invites papers investigating the phenomenon of Africa as the laboratory of international rule of law interventions. From different disciplinary perspectives papers should explore how these interventions have challenged Africa and/or how Africa has challenged the understanding of the “rule of law” more generally.
The applications have to be sent directly to the convenors (see email addresses below). They will inform you directly about the outcome of your application after the deadline (15 March 2021). Please send a maximum of 500 words plain text. Please do not send additional attachments.
Co-Convenors: Jonas Bens jonas.bens@clutterfu-berlin.de, Leonie Benker leonie.benker@clutterfu-berlin.de
