Almost a hundred years after the creation of the League of Nations, it is still commonly remembered as a failure in a period of chaos and disorder. Recently, however, a growing literature has begun a reappraisal of this historiography, looking at the role of the League of Nations beyond its frustrations and disillusionments in collective security. This new surge of critical studies has led to a more complex and multifaceted understanding of the League, exploring its legacies and impacts at a time of renewed economic crises and of deepening conflicting visions of international order. In the centenary of its foundation, we are taking this further by looking at the League of Nations with a view from the South. Our aim is to decentre the League and to explore competing visions of international order, law and institutions that resonate in our contemporary world.

This conference will bring together scholars working in law, history, international relations, and political theory to think critically about the League of Nations, law, institutions, practices, ideologies and technologies in relation to or with a view from the South. Paper proposals related to the conference theme are now invited. Possible topics for papers include:

• The League of Nations and the regulation of international violence
• Sovereignty, empires, and the shifting boundaries of international authority
• Intervention (military, economic, political) in the context of the League
• Anti-colonialism, the rise of transnational social movements (socialism, feminism, national liberation)
• Competing internationalisms and visions of international order
• The rise of fascism and Nazism
• Petitioning, oversight, publicity and new arenas of international politics
• Humanitarianism, humanitarian assistance and governance
• Adjudication, arbitration, and the Permanent Court of International Justice
• The relationship between the League of Nations and contemporary or succeeding international institutions
• The Mandates system
• Indigenous peoples and the League of Nations
• Codification and the role of international law
• Major crises of the League of Nations (eg Ethiopia, Manchuria)
• Economic and social regulation and authority

Abstracts of no more than 350 words should be submitted to Dr Ntina Tzouvala (konstantina.tzouvala@unimelb.edu.au) by the 30th of November 2018.

 Date: 18th-19th of July 2019

Place: Melbourne Law School

Conveners: Kathryn Greenman, Anne Orford, Ntina Tzouvala, and Luís Bogliolo

Confirmed Keynote Speaker: Professor Balakrishnan Rajagopal (Department of Urban Studies and Planning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology)