NAVIGATING A MULTIPOLAR WORLD: CHALLENGES TO THE POST-WWII STATUS QUO OF INTERNATIONAL LAW

(In-person, Faculty of Law of the University of Cambridge, 28–29 April 2025)

About the Conference

The Cambridge International Law Journal (CILJ) is pleased to invite the submission of abstracts to be considered for presentation at the 14th Annual Conference of the CILJ. The Conference will take place at the Faculty of Law, University of Cambridge on 28 and 29 April 2025. The theme of the 2025 Conference is ‘Navigating a Multipolar World: Challenges to the Post-WWII Status Quo of International Law’. 

As 2025 marks the 80th anniversary of the adoption of the Charter of the United Nations, shaping our modern conception of international law after World War II, the 14th Annual Conference invites papers critically assessing the challenges that an increasingly complex, contested, and multipolar world poses to the status quo of international law. Eight decades after the adoption of the Charter, the international legal order now contends with an array of challenges: an escalating climate crisis, rising geopolitical tensions, conflicts both continuing in the Global South and recurring in the North, and the increasing resort to non-conventional methods of warfare. This reality is further complicated as the world’s reach extends into cyberspace, outer space, towards the two poles, and down into deep sea environments. Is the post-1945 international legal framework still fit for purpose? How can international law evolve and continue to deliver results in a world defined by diverse centres of power, shifting regional blocs, and various non-State actors all demanding an input?

Call for Abstracts

We invite all interested scholars to submit an abstract between 250 and 300 words via the link below by 23:59 GMT on 9 January 2025. We welcome submissions from PhD students, early career researchers, and established academics, and practitioners. Selected papers will be presented at the Conference, and all conference presenters will have the opportunity to submit their papers for consideration for publication in Volume 14(2) of the CILJ.

Click here to submit your abstract

Additional details on our policies on ethics and the treatment of content generated through the use of artificial intelligence are available on our website.

For further information, please contact the Conference Conveners at [email protected].

Keilin Anderson and Kevin Zou, Conference Convenors 14th Annual Conference of the CILJ