Abstract
The notion of infrastructure has recently featured prominently in international legal scholarship. The
ambition behind the turn to infrastructure in international legal theory is comparable to other large
attempts to conceptualize the discipline. Yet, against the backdrop of work in the humanities and
social sciences, theoretical engagement with infrastructure is still nascent in the legal discipline. In
this Article, we build on another recent development in international legal scholarship–the turn to
“materiality”–to articulate a systematic theory of infrastructure in international law. At the center of
our study is the case study of the cruise ship. Studying cruise ships and their legal and political
environment in detail, we introduce three conceptual building blocks through which we develop a
more comprehensive theory of infrastructure: Platform, object and rupture. While we focus on cruise
ships, the theory of legal infrastructure that we offer is applicable to a wide array of industries and
issues.
ambition behind the turn to infrastructure in international legal theory is comparable to other large
attempts to conceptualize the discipline. Yet, against the backdrop of work in the humanities and
social sciences, theoretical engagement with infrastructure is still nascent in the legal discipline. In
this Article, we build on another recent development in international legal scholarship–the turn to
“materiality”–to articulate a systematic theory of infrastructure in international law. At the center of
our study is the case study of the cruise ship. Studying cruise ships and their legal and political
environment in detail, we introduce three conceptual building blocks through which we develop a
more comprehensive theory of infrastructure: Platform, object and rupture. While we focus on cruise
ships, the theory of legal infrastructure that we offer is applicable to a wide array of industries and
issues.
Original language | English |
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Journal | German Law Journal (GLJ) |
Volume | 25 |
Issue number | 8 |
Number of pages | 31 |
ISSN | 2071-8322 |
Publication status | Published - 2024 |