Location
University of Auckland
Between the various strands of scholarship there is a wide range of understandings of the two Hague Peace Conferences (1899 and 1907). Experts in International law posit that The Hague’s foremost legacy lines in the manner in which it progressed the law of war and international justice. Historians of peace and pacifism view the conferences as seminal movements that legitimated and gave a greater degree of relevance to international political activism. Cultural scholars tend to focus on the symbolic significance of The Hague and the Peace Palace as places for explaining the meaning of peace while diplomatic and military historians tend to dismiss the events of 1899 and 1907 as insignificant ‘footnotes en route to the First World War’ (N J Bailey).
Conference topics include:
- The history, legacy and on-going meaning of the two conferences
- The significance of the conventions signed at the conferences
- The Hague tradition, both as an idea and a symbolic site of international law
- Aspects of international law, diplomacy and politics at the conferences
- Ideas of peace, pacifism, internationalism and justice in relation to The Hague
For any enquiries regarding the conference, please contact conference organisers through this email address: haguelegacies@gmail.com