International Organizations & International Law (IO/IL)

Convenors
Karen Alter (Political Science)
Terry Halliday (ABF-Sociology)
Ian Hurd (Political Science)
Jide Nzelibe (Law)

Graduate student coordinator
Brian Dempsey <BrianDempsey2016@u.northwestern.edu>

The IO/IL Working Group is a meeting place for scholars with an interest in international law and international organization, broadly defined. Its mission is to bring together faculty, visitors, and advanced graduate students and facilitate joint research and events. It has a deliberately interdisciplinary mandate and welcomes members and scholarship dealing with all aspects of international institutions and institutionalization, international regulation and governance, and the relationship between domestic and international rules, norms, and laws.

Events and Plans

We meet one or more times a quarter for invited speaker talks. Meetings generally take place at the Buffett Center or at the homes of group members, and vary in format from formal conferences and workshops to informal readings groups and themed discussions. Past events include a reading group on international law in its political and social context, a conference on the changing authority of the UN Security Council, and a series of events engaged in the comparative study of international courts and tribunals. Occasionally we meet to talk about new and important books and articles.

The working group contributes to the Buffett Center for International and Comparative Studies working paper series, encouraging all members and speakers to publish work in progress. The group also provides ongoing support for regional workshops where scholars from around the midwest present work in progress. The 2011 meeting will take place in May, at the University of Chicago School of law.

Please consult the activities link for a listing of past and upcoming activities.

Members

The Working Group includes members from humanities and social sciences, the Kellogg School of Business, the Northwestern Law School, the American Bar Foundation, and elsewhere around the university. It is open to faculty, researchers, and senior graduate students. To join, please contact the convenors listed below.

Group Administration and Governance

The group is supported by the Buffett Center for International and Comparative Studies. In 2011-2012 the group will be directed by Jide Nzelibe (j-nzelibe@law.northwestern.edu) and administered by Brian Dempsey (BrianDempsey2016@u.northwestern.edu).