BOOK: Stefano CATTELAN & Frederik DHONDT (eds.), Small Power Neutrality and the Law of The Sea in the Long Eighteenth Century (ca. 1650–1800). Law as Argument in the Pelagic Arena [History of European Political and Constitutional Thought, eds. Mark SOMOS, Erica BENNER & Laszlo KONTLER] (Leiden/Boston: Brill, 2025), ISBN 978-90-04-72442-6, €133,56

(image source: Brill)

Abstract:

This volume by both younger and more established specialists of legal, maritime, diplomatic, and political history covers the nuanced interplay of neutrality and the law of the sea within Western, Central, and Eastern Europe, emphasising the opening up of the world in the early modern period (i.e. Africa, North America, and the Caribbean). The various faces of neutrality, both in law and politics, appear through commercial, administrative, and geopolitical practical cases and in the writings of famous legal writers. By linking up different sets of knowledge, a kaleidoscope of power configurations and arguments guides the reader through the labyrinth of trade, sea power, and negotiations. 

Contributors:

Stefano Cattelan, Frederik Dhondt, John Freeman, Nora Naguib Leerberg, Christian Pfister-Langanay, Leos Müller, Stephen C. Neff, and Victor Wilson.

Read more here: DOI 10.1163/9789004728974.

CONFERENCE: Learning about the law: Historical perspectives on public legal education for laypersons and underprivileged groups (Helsinki: University of Helsinki, 20-21 MAY 2025)

(image source: University of Helsinki)

I presented at the conference Learning about the law: Historical perspectives on public legal education for laypersons and underprivileged groups, organised by dr. Marianne Vasara-Aaltonen at the University of Helsinki.

More information here.

SYMPOSIUM: The Worlds of Pre-Modern Neutrality (ca. 1400-1800): Norms, Institutions and Practices (Antwerp: Hendrik Conscience Heritage Library, 8-9 MAY 2025)

 

(image source: VUB CORE)

It was my pleasure to co-organise with dr. Stefano Cattelan (VUB/CORE) the international symposium "The Worlds of Pre-Modern Neutrality (ca. 1400-1800): Norms, Institutions and Practices" at the Hendrik Conscience Heritage Library (Antwerp), with keynote speakers Prof. Eric Schnakenbourg (Nantes) and Prof. Silvia Marzagalli (Nice), as well as almost twenty other speakers. We are grateful to the Library, the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO) and the research group CORE for their support.

More information here.

CONFERENCE: El Tratado de Viena (1725), un Punto de Inflexión Diplomático ? Le Traité de Vienne (1725) Un tournant diplomatique ? (Madrid: Casa de Velázquez, 8-9 MAY 2025)

 

(image source: Casa de Velázquez)

I had the privilege to present work-in-progress (with the assistance of dr. Stefano Cattelan/VUB-CORE) at the conference El Tratado de Viena (1725), un Punto de Inflexión Diplomático ? Le Traité de Vienne (1725) Un tournant diplomatique ?, organised by Guillaume Hanotin and María Betlem Castellà i Pujols in the Casa de Velázquez in Madrid. Due to a conflict of dates, this was done online.

More information here.