Theory and Practice of International Law
Faculty
Y. Onuma
H. Watanabe
Description
Pre-19 th century, regional orders existed in East Asia, South Asia, Central Asia, West Asia, Europe, America , etc. Members of these regional orders shared certain normative ideas and institutions, although major agents or bearers and their boundaries often changed according to power struggles among these major powers.
After the sovereign states system was born in Europe, European nations increased their economic and military power, and overwhelmed rival powers in other regional orders such as the Qin Dynasty in East Asia and the Ottoman Empire in West Asia . By the end of the 19 th century the sovereign states system, together with the European colonial system, was established on a global scale. This seminar seeks to clarify and analyze the globalizing process of the sovereign states system and the transformation of the cognitive frameworks held by East Asian people from the 19 th to the 20 th century.
In order to discuss this “transformation,” we have to know the pre-existing cognitive frameworks of East Asians during the pre-19 th century period. We also have to know how European people perceived the world under the sovereign states system. This seminar, which will be held every two weeks, seeks to understand these various aspects of the problem by combining the supervision of two professors: a professor of history of political thought in East Asia , and a professor of international law.