Publication Type

Book Chapter

Version

publishedVersion

Publication Date

12-2024

Abstract

This essay reviews the centenary development of the Hague Academy of International Law with particular emphasis on its research and teaching related to regional approaches to international law. Charles Henry Alexandrowicz's lectures at the Hague Academy in the 1960s contended that the European-developed recognition system narrowed the universality of international law to Eurocentric dimensions and marginalised international legal developments in Asia. Drawing on Alexandrowicz's main claim, the essay argues that the rise of Asia has become a geopolitical reality but has yet to be recognised in international legal scholarship. First, Alexandrowicz's theoretical analysis should be understood through both international law and international relations perspectives to better illuminate how state identity and status propel interstate relations. Second, empirical analysis reveals a persistent Eurocentric tendency in the Hague Academy's curriculum. Since 1923, European integration has dominated 52% of region-focused courses, while Asian regionalism accounts for merely 7%. As global power shifts towards multipolarity and the Indo-Pacific region gains strategic importance, this essay concludes that the Hague Academy must adopt a more balanced and interdisciplinary approach to fulfil its aspiration of becoming a truly international institution.

Keywords

Asia, constitutive theory, Hague Academy, recognition

Discipline

International Law

Areas of Excellence

Growth in Asia

Publication

Hague Yearbook of International Law

Volume

37

Editor

VIDMAR, Jure

First Page

187

Last Page

200

Identifier

10.1163/9789004700178_009

Additional URL

https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004700178_009

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