Reimagining international law in the Anthropocene

The central research question posited by this study pertains to the feasibility of establishing an international law ('IL') that could serve as a remedy for the crises prevalent within the Anthropocene. In addressing this question, it does not adopt the perspective of the Anthropocene as an 'omen of doom' that is entirely external to IL. Instead, from the study's standpoint, the Anthropocene is intricately linked to IL. In this context, the central argument of the present study is that the 'human' activities that give rise to the Anthropocene are, in themselves, subject to the regulatory framework of IL. In this regard, the study posits that in order to cultivate an international legal imagination that can effectively mitigate or eliminate the crises inherent in the Anthropocene, it is imperative to prioritise an examination of the functioning of IL as a discipline. In this context, the three-part study first explores the genealogy of the notion of 'human' in IL and demonstrates, on the one hand, that 'human' does not encompass all biological human beings; on the other hand, it illuminates the connection between certain groups of Homo sapiens excluded from the realm of 'human' and animals and nature. The second chapter analyses how IL is dealt with in moments of 'crisis', such as the Anthropocene. The chapter situates IL against the backdrop of the Anthropocene and shows the questions and problems that should be at the centre of an IL that can be an antidote to the crises of the Anthropocene.