Table Of ContentThis important book explores critically the main intersections between Inter-
national Law and the nonhuman in the contemporary world. Emily Jones’s
bold interdisciplinary approach exposes the limitations of the Humanism and
Anthropocentrism inherent to International Law, while re-asserting the Law’s
commitment to face the challenges of the posthuman predicament. Foremost
among them, the regulation of human-machine interaction in military tech-
nologies and the status of nature in Environmental Law.
Pragmatic, but theoretically savvy, Jones combines critique with creativity
by proposing alternative sources that many help overcome legal liberalism.
Posthuman Feminism, Queering the Nonhuman, Indigenous Epistemolo-
gies, New Materialism and the Rights of Nature movement are just some of
the toolkits this remarkable book provides as a way forward.
Emily Jones holds legal discourse accountable but also confirms its ability
to change and construct more inclusive, sustainable and just worlds. A major
work that will leave a mark.
Rosi Braidotti, Distinguished Professor Emerita, Utrecht University,
the Netherlands
Anchoring us in new possibilities, this impressive work explains what post-
human feminist perspectives offer to the urgent task of superseding inter-
national law’s deadly imperial anthropocentrism by fostering legal systems
capable of sustaining life in all its forms. Drawing on a staggering array
of interdisciplinary critical scholarship, Jones illustrates some of the par-
adigm shifts that are necessary if we, and the planet, are to survive (let
alone flourish) in these posthuman times. To illustrate, she engages adeptly
with current debates in two areas of international law – the regulation of
lethal military technologies and international environmental law. Along the
way Jones remains cognisant of the many tensions that can compromise or
co-opt feminist efforts to change international law’s neoliberal humanist
orientation from within, readily acknowledging that posthuman feminist
change is also necessary outside the law and may even require a turning
away from law.
Dianne Otto, Melbourne Law School, Australia
In this meticulously researched and beautifully written book, Emily Jones
draws on posthuman feminism to both highlight and question international
law’s constitutive boundaries: human/nature, human/technology and, per-
haps above all, the boundaries imposed upon feminist legal theory in the
field. By applying a radically egalitarian feminist framework to the laws of
war and international environmental law, Jones reveals that some of the most
urgent problems of our times, war, climate change and anti-feminist backlash,
are much more interconnected than we might have thought.
Ntina Tzouvala, Associate Professor, ANU College of Law, Australian
National University
FEMINIST THEORY AND
INTERNATIONAL LAW
Feminist approaches to international law have been mischaracterised by the main-
stream of the discipline as being a niche field that pertains only to women’s lived
experiences and their participation in decision-m aking processes. Exemplifying how
feminist approaches can be used to analyse all areas of international law, this book
applies posthuman feminist theory to examine the regulation of new and emerging
military technologies, international environmental law and the conceptualisation of
the sovereign state and other modes of legal personality in international law.
Noting that most posthuman scholarship to date is primarily theoretical, this
book also contributes to the field of posthumanism through its application of post-
human feminism to international law, working to bridge the theory and practice
divide by using posthuman feminism to design and call for legal change. This
interdisciplinary book draws on an array of fields, including philosophy, queer and
feminist theories, postcolonial and critical race theories, computer science, criti-
cal disability studies, science and technology studies, marine biology, cultural and
media studies, Indigenous onto- epistemologies, critical legal theory, political sci-
ence and beyond to provide a holistic analysis of international law and its inclusions
and exclusions.
This interdisciplinary book will appeal to students and scholars with interests in
legal, feminist and posthuman theory, as well as those concerned with the contem-
porary challenges faced by international law.
Dr Emily Jones is a NUAcT Fellow based in Newcastle Law School, Newcastle
University, UK.
FEMINIST THEORY AND
INTERNATIONAL LAW
Posthuman Perspectives
Emily Jones
Designed cover image: © Getty Images
First published 2023
by Routledge
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
a GlassHouse book
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2023 Emily Jones
The right of Emily Jones to be identified as author of this work has been asserted
in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act
1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any
information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the
publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered
trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent
to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing- in- Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN: 978- 1- 032- 04389- 0 (hbk)
ISBN: 978- 1- 032- 42690- 7 (pbk)
ISBN: 978- 1- 003- 36379- 8 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003363798
Typeset in Bembo
by SPi Technologies India Pvt Ltd (Straive)
CONTENTS
Acknowledgements viii
Note on the Text x
List of Acronyms xi
Introduction: Posthuman Feminism and International Law 1
1 International Law and the Nonhuman 27
2 Human and Machine: Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems 56
3 Regulating Military Technologies: Between Resistance and
Compliance 84
4 Queering the Nonhuman: Engaging International
Environmental Law 110
5 The Subjectivity of Matter: The Rights of Nature in
International Law 128
6 Posthuman Feminism: Reworlding Exits from Liberal Legalism 153
Bibliography 165
Index 197
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
While I am listed as the sole author, I could not have written this book without
the support and inspiration of many others. Thank you to Gina Heathcote for her
unwavering support of my work, both when writing my thesis and then when trans-
forming that thesis into this book. Enormous thanks must also go to Rosi Braidotti,
who was not only a brilliant PhD examiner but also took it upon herself to become
a mentor to me. My deep gratitude also extends to Dianne Otto, who has likewise
mentored me, always believing in me, my work and this book. I have learnt a great
deal from these three feminist women and am deeply indebted to each of them.
Thank you to Rosi Braidotti, Dianne Otto, Alice Finden, Ntina Tzouvala, Anna
Grear, Noam Lubell, John Williams and Gina Heathcote for providing extremely
helpful feedback on some of the later versions of the chapters of this book. Passages
of this book were also inspired by conversations with and the feedback of Yoriko
Otomo and Vanja Hamzić, both of whom provided poignant guidance at key
moments when I was writing my thesis. With thanks to both.
I wrote various parts of this book while visiting other institutions. In 2019, I was
lucky enough to be a Kathleen Fitzpatrick Visiting Fellow at the Laureate Program
in International Law at Melbourne Law School, hosted by Anne Orford. Parts of
this text were written there while other parts were inspired by conversations with
colleagues on the programme. With special thanks to Anne for the opportunity and
for her support.
During the course of my PhD, I undertook a visiting research position at
Sciences Po Paris. Thank you to Emmanuelle Tourme- Jouannet for her guidance
during that time, and for being so welcoming and generous.
I also wrote parts of this text while undertaking a visiting research position at the
Institute for Cultural Inquiry (ICON) at Utrecht University in 2020. Thank you to
Rosi Braidotti for the invitation which provided me with invaluable research time.
Acknowledgements ix
I am very lucky to have met many people who have been willing to help guide
me in this project over the years, including Ratna Kapur, Christine Chinkin, Louise
Arimatsu, Loveday Hodson, Grietje Baars, Rahul Rao, Hilary Charlesworth,
Matilda Arvidsson and Keina Yoshida. With thanks to each for their guidance and
for the many inspiring conversations.
Thank you to all my colleagues at the University of Essex for being so wel-
coming, friendly and supportive and for seeing my potential before I had even fin-
ished my PhD. With special thanks to Patricia Palacios Zuloaga for her friendship,
Meagan Wong for being my international law co- conspirator and to Kai Yin Low,
Daragh Murray and Carla Ferstman for their belief in and support of my research.
I am grateful to Jérémie Gilbert, Elizabeth Macpherson and Julia Dehm for
our conversations on the rights of nature, many of which informed the writing of
Chapter 5.
I would like to thank my PhD colleagues at SOAS University of London, for
being part of the journey with me and for being there to support and guide me
when needed. My thanks go to Jana Cattien, Sheri Labenski, Akanksha Mehta,
Sabiha Allouche, Haje Keli, Siavash Eshghi, Hanns Kendal and Jacquelyn Strey and,
at the time postdoctoral researcher, Bérénice K. Schramm.
Thank you to Goda Klumbytė, Ruth Clemens, Fiona Hillary and Kay
Sidebottom, my fellow posthuman kin, for being such a great source for support
and for always reminding me of the importance of reworlding.
I have come to learn that one cannot underestimate the value of a supportive
editor. Thank you to my editor, Colin Perrin at Routledge, for his enthusiasm
right from the moment I reached out to him to the concluding stages of writing
this book.
I am grateful to all my students at SOAS University of London and the University
of Essex, from 2014 until the present, for teaching me more than I could ever have
taught them.
I would also like to thank my A level teachers who pushed me to believe in
myself, properly, for the first time. Special thanks to Dave Brock, my first ever law
teacher, who put up with cheeky teenage Emily, his belief in my potential never
wavering.
Thank you to my friends and family. In particular, I am deeply grateful to my
parents and to Rachel, Anneke, Rosi, Hamida, Di, Jana, Patricia, Gina, Hanns,
Miranda, Sheri, Steph and Jasper.
Thank you, Alice, for the best of times.
