Project description
Anti-Jewishness in the history of international law
The 1648 Westphalian Peace Treaty – the foundation of the modern international order – is characterised by the co-existence of sovereign states. Minority groups had no voice within this political and legal framework. In this context, the EU-funded JIL project will study the Jewish conceptions of international trade and criminal law during this time. It will address the topic of anti-Jewishness in the history of international law. Specifically, JIL will focus on the international trade network of the 18th century Portuguese-Jewish community in Amsterdam to uncover its contributions to the history and development of international law. The findings will shed new light on the emancipatory space for marginalised groups that participated in the periphery.
Objective
Ever since 1648, European international law has had at its core the formal recognition of states as sovereign and independent political units. Minority groups such as the Jews did not have a voice within the political and legal framework established at the treaty of Westphalia. As the ‘other within’, Jews were not central participants within the history of international legal discourse. So far, little to no research has been undertaken on the Jewish conceptions of international trade and criminal law. This Action entitled ‘A Jewish Contribution to the Historiography of International Law (JIL)’ will address the topic of anti-Jewishness in the history of international law. The aim of the project is to examine the international trade network of the 18th-century Portuguese Jewish community in Amsterdam in order to uncover its contributions to the history and development of international law. It will do so through an interdisciplinary and innovative approach in combining various disciplines and research methods: archival research, legal anthropology, case-studies analysis, rabbinic legal analysis, intellectual history, politics, Christian theology, material culture, and urban governance. The project offers to make a change in the historiography of international law by highlighting Jewish men and women who were active in international business in the 18th century. In bringing the relevant cases to the foreground, the researcher aims to open emancipatory space for other marginalized groups that participated in the periphery.
Fields of science
Keywords
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)Coordinator
2000 Antwerpen
Belgium