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Narrative contingency and international humanitarian law : Crimes against humanity in Cixin Liu’s post-humanist universe
Alexander, Amanda
Alexander, Amanda
Author
Abstract
This chapter will argue that international humanitarian law (IHL) is embedded in narratives that shape its history and meaning. Some international lawyers have argued that these narrative possibilities are necessarily constrained by a Western perspective that limits the potential of the law. Indeed, theories of narrative history consider that the possibilities of any narrative history are limited by prevailing tropes and can only relate a humanist story of ‘man’s’ encounter with the legal order. Nevertheless, alternative aesthetic and theoretical frameworks are beginning to emerge that could facilitate new ways of understanding IHL. Remembrance of Earth’s Past, a science fiction trilogy by Chinese writer Cixin Liu, provides an opportunity to explore a strikingly different vision of law, crimes against humanity, and the very notion of humanity. It suggests how narratives that draw on non-Western, non-anthropocentric ethics might underpin a distinct type of law.
Keywords
international humanitarian law, law and literature, history and international law, narrative theory, ecocentrism, anthropocentricism
Date
2021
Type
Book chapter
Journal
Book
Contingency in international law : On the possibility of different legal histories
Volume
Issue
Page Range
351-369
Article Number
ACU Department
Thomas More Law School
Faculty of Law and Business
Faculty of Law and Business
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Open Access Status
License
All rights reserved
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Controlled