Thematically-organized topics will explore global aspects of human experience across time. Each section will examine a single theme.
State Intervention and International Law in World History
States have intervened in the affairs of other states for as long as there have been states. The overseas expansion of European states in the 15th century, however, changed the terms of intervention, leading to what we know as international law today. This course tracks that development through a series of case studies, starting with the Spanish intervention in the Americas in 1493 and ending with the use of drones by the United States in the Middle East starting in 2004. Imperialism, in other words, has been the driver of international law.