A new project led by our Law School aims to re-focus international law research by centring it on care rather than harm.
Our Professor of Global Law, Catherine O'Rourke, has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) towards a five-year research project called 'Centring Care in International Law'.
New approach
The project aims to shift the focus of international law research away from harm and toward 'care' - an important concept that has been largely sidelined in international legal studies.
It will explore areas of international law where care is highly relevant but isn't always given the legal recognition it deserves.
For example, evidence of care practices can be central to the recognition of relationships between people who do not have a biological or legal connection, such as children crossing national borders without family members or same-sex couples in jurisdictions where marriage equality is unavailable.
Professor O'Rourke said: "We want to find more of those situations where care does have legal significance, but we just don't talk about it in those terms.
"I want to talk about law in care terms and then see if we can reformulate core principles of international law that centres those care principles and practices."
Re-shaping international law
The project has four specific work streams.
These are: theoretical work connecting feminist care theory and international law; looking at international human rights, environmental, criminal and trade law through the lens of care; ethnographic observations of international law institutions; and examining legal questions to see whether a care-centred approach can be applied.
Professor Andrew Russell from our Department of Anthropology will contribute to the project as an expert adviser, along with two external professors, three postdoctoral researchers and two PhD researchers.
By focusing on care, the Centring Care in International Law project will offer new ways to think about the main principles, institutions, and processes of international law.
The project has received an ERC Consolidator Grant, along with another Durham research project from our Department of Mathematical Sciences.
