Boyd van Dijk

Meaning and Understanding in the History of Ideas and Beyond | Home Adrian Blau is Professor of Politics at King’s College London. His research interests include the history of political thought and other issues in political theory/philosophy, including corruption, democracy and rationality.

A reassessment of Quentin Skinner's classic paper on its 50th anniversary, drawn from a @britishacademy.bsky.social conference - Meaning and Understanding in the History of Ideas and Beyond, edited by @adrianblau.bsky.social & open access at www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/book/10....

looks terrific - warm congrats @briandrohan.bsky.social & @drmargottudor.bsky.social

www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501...

What Walter Benjamin Knew A new biography of the Berlin-born philosopher emphasizes his combination of stubborn unworldliness and startling prescience.

great essay

www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...

Humanitarian Archive Emergency

"The Humanitarian Archive Emergency (HAE) project responds to the growing risk of loss affecting digital archives, records, and datasets related to humanitarian response and global health."

research.manchester.ac.uk/en/projects/...

The Many Usages of “Nuremberg”: On the Aftermath of the International Military Tribunal and Subsequent Trials The Nuremberg Trials are often considered the starting point of the progressive expansion of criminal legal approaches to address serious human rights abuses. Rather than reaffirming the narrative ...

The Many Usages of “Nuremberg”: On the Aftermath of the International Military Tribunal and Subsequent Trials

www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

After Nuremberg: The Trial of Alexander Löhr and the Boundaries of Civilian Protection This article analyses the 1947 Yugoslav trial of General Alexander Löhr, the highest-ranking Wehrmacht officer prosecuted in post-war Yugoslavia, in order to demonstrate how a small socialist state...

After Nuremberg: The Trial of Alexander Löhr and the Boundaries of Civilian Protection

www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Commenting Anew on Article 23 of Geneva Convention IV New Commentary on Geneva Convention IV describes Article 23 as "significantly diminished" in importance in today's legal context.

fully agree

www.justsecurity.org/131513/comme...

Hegseth: "Israel has clear missions as well for which we are grateful. Capable partners are good partners, unlike so many of our traditional allies who wring their hands and clutch their pearls, hemming and hawing about the use of force ... no stupid rules of engagement."

looks fascinating - coming out this month

press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...

Carney puts rules-based international order sign back in window OTTAWA - After publishing an official statement on behalf of the Canadian government supporting the joint US-Israel bombings in Iran this morning, Prime Minister Carney was spotted happily putting the...

Carney puts rules-based international order sign back in window

looks very interesting

www.law.ed.ac.uk/news-events/...

This interview with the indomitable Mona Rishmawi is an important complement to the Fact-Finding Mission’s report. It focuses on the FFM’s landmark assessment that the RSF has committed genocide.

www.middleeasteye.net/news/sudan-u...

Belgian museum caught in row over millions of DR Congo records KoBold Metals and DR Congo are pushing a Brussels museum to release records that would help map valuable metals

intriguing - on the ownership-related questions of decolonizing archives and the entangled legacies of colonialism.

www.ft.com/content/18e9...

A History of the Hague Academy’s First Century: Computational Insights from the Recueil des cours Abstract. The Hague Academy’s flagship publication, the Collected Courses / Recueil des cours, sheds light on the evolution of international law over the l

"The Hague Academy has far under-delivered on its aspiration of being representative of all regions and legal traditions."

academic.oup.com/ejil/advance...

The Right’s Civilizational New World Order Civilizationalism, the idea that world politics revolves around culturally bounded civilizations led by great powers, is energizing the Right on both sides of the Atlantic. It is key to the effort to ...

The Right’s Civilizational New World Order

jacobin.com/2026/02/civi...

Frédéric Mégret: “Ukraine has done itself and international law a service” After four years of war in Ukraine, international law seems more threatened than ever, and its role in peace negotiations is being challenged. But the example of Ukraine also shows us "a space for sur...

excellent interview with Fred Mégret - "Ukraine has done itself and int law a service by arguing almost every possible angle in its favour[, and] its successes paint a picture of what happened, one that will be more difficult to deny in the future."

www.justiceinfo.net/en/155609-uk...

Latest articles from Security Studies Browse the latest articles and research from Security Studies

very interesting new issue on nuclear weapons and legal doctrine

www.tandfonline.com/toc/fsst20/0/0

Reading the Updated Commentary on GCIV in an Imperial Moment The updated ICRC Commentary of the Fourth Geneva Convention (GCIV) is a monumental, if not timely, achievement. At its core, it provides a set of very useful legal interpretations on an enormous body ...

I was invited by @ejiltalk.bsky.social @justsecurity.org to reflect on colonialism in relation to the updated ICRC Commentary on the Fourth Geneva Convention - here are my thoughts.

www.ejiltalk.org/reading-the-...

Archiving the Tricontinental — archive stories ︎︎︎ All     ︎︎︎ Launching Archive Stories     ︎︎︎ Archiving Palestine     ︎︎︎ Archiving the...

interesting series of essays on the archives of postcolonial/socialist/Tricontinental actors

archive-stories.com/Archiving-th...

Reading the Updated Commentary on GCIV in an Imperial Moment The updated ICRC Commentary of the Fourth Geneva Convention (GCIV) is a monumental, if not timely, achievement. At its core, it provides a set of very useful legal interpretations on an enormous body ...

Reading the Updated Commentary on GCIV in an Imperial Moment | by Boyd van Dijk

This post is part of a symposium is being run in collaboration with @justsecurity.org and the @icrc.org

"IO survival is predicated on staff performing as exploited subjects revealing a chronic structural crisis rooted in the UN."

www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Hitler’s Greenland Obsession After creating an economic mess with ill-advised tariffs, Hitler looked north in pursuit of resources and national security.

fascinating

www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

Reading the Updated Commentary on GCIV in an Imperial Moment The updated ICRC Commentary of the Fourth Geneva Convention (GCIV) is a monumental, if not timely, achievement. At its core, it provides a set of very useful legal interpretations on an enormous body ...

I was invited by @ejiltalk.bsky.social @justsecurity.org to reflect on colonialism in relation to the updated ICRC Commentary on the Fourth Geneva Convention - here are my thoughts.

www.ejiltalk.org/reading-the-...

Sudan: ‘Hallmarks of genocide’ found in El Fasher, UN investigators detail mass killings and ethnic targeting The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) carried out ethnically targeted killings, widespread sexual violence and enforced disappearances during their late-October takeover of El Fasher in Sudan’s Darfur region...

Hallmarks of genocide found in El Fasher

news.un.org/en/story/202...

The Berkeley School: Critical Theory, Political Economy, and the Future of Intellectual History by Jonathon Catlin This essay is part of a JHI Blog forum: “The Return of Political Economy in Intellectual History.”

on Martin Jay’s retirement conference and many other things - excellent essay by @joncatlin.bsky.social

www.jhiblog.org/2026/02/16/t...

LONGREAD | The Violence of Hunger LONGREAD | This NIOD longread explores how hunger and mass violence are connected, how we can recognize it, and hold those responsible to account.

The Violence of Hunger: Starvation, Famine, and Responsibility

www.niod.nl/en/longreads...

China and the World to Come • EQUATOR How elites in Beijing view the collapse of American hegemony

China and the World to Come - Zhang Weiwei interviewed by Pankaj Mishra

www.equator.org/articles/chi...

Protecting civilians in good faith: A joint symposium on the updated ICRC Commentary on the Fourth Geneva Convention Following five years of research and consultations, the ICRC published a new, updated Commentary on the Fourth Geneva Convention (GC IV) of 1949 in October 2025. GC IV is the cornerstone of protection...

starting today, @ejiltalk.bsky.social @justsecurity.org and the ICRC are hosting a symposium on the updated Commentary of GCIV - new contributions will be published over the coming weeks, including my own, so do keep an eye on it.

www.ejiltalk.org/protecting-c...

Strengthening International law through Constructive Thinking? A symposium with Prof. Monica Hakimi (University of Groningen, 29 April 2026) Call for submissions International law is in a deep crisis. There is hardly anyone today who would take this statement …

CFP: Strengthening International law through Constructive Thinking? A symposium with Prof. Monica Hakimi

igiltp.wordpress.com/2026/02/16/s...

Reflexive Globalisation and the Law Archives - Verfassungsblog In October 2025, a new Centre for Advanced Studies was established at the Humboldt University of Berlin’s Law Faculty. Named “Reflexive Globalisation and the Law: Colonial Legacies and their Implicati...

this is a fascinating collection of essays on (int) law, 'reflexive globalization,' and race

verfassungsblog.de/category/deb...