Vadi, Valentina (2019) Perspective and Scale in the Architecture of International Legal History. European Journal of International Law, 30 (1). pp. 53-71. ISSN 0938-5428
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Abstract
Recent trends such as the turn to the history of international law, the parallel turn to the international law of history and the resulting emergence of international legal history as a field of study have encouraged an unprecedented interest in methodological questions in international legal history. Should international legal historians focus on the specific or the general? Should their narration be accessible to the many or should it be academic and addressed to the few? This article contributes to these emerging debates by focusing on the perspective and scale of analysis and investigating whether micro-historical approaches can help international legal historians to bridge the gap between the academic realm and the public, unveil unknown or little known international legal histories and contribute to the development of the field. This article aims to start a discussion on perspective and scale in international legal history and argues for inclusive and pluralist approaches by drawing out the advantages and potential of micro-history in relation to, and in combination with, the prevalent doctrinal, institutional and diplomatic macro-histories of international law.