Robert Knox: The Invasion of Ukraine and the Politics of ‘Hypocrisy’ in International Law
Robert Knox, Senior Lecturer at the University of Liverpool
About
We are joined by Dr Robert Knox, Senior Lecturer at the University of Liverpool to discuss the charge of ‘hypocrisy’ in popular opposition to war and of its central importance to international legal argument. The Russian state’s invasion of Ukraine has given rise to a flurry of arguments hedged in the language of hypocrisy. The rapid mobilisation Western nations in support of Ukrainian refugees has been accused of hypocrisy, or racialised biases in international refugee aid, while the Russian state denounces Western condemnation of the war in Ukraine as hypocritical, pointing to the conduct of the US and its allies in the Balkans, Iraq, Libya and Syria. Rather than a mere rhetorical device, however, such accusations are central to international law. Drawing on a forthcoming article, Dr Knox draws on political theorists to understand how charges of hypocrisy act as a crucial political currency in the social relations of capitalism. Knox charts how the unfolding of capitalist social relations gave rise to various configurations of hypocrisy within international law, asking what potential such accusations might have to help transform and overcome the social relations of capitalism and imperialism.
Speaker
Robert completed his PhD thesis at the London School of Economics and Political Science and he obtained his BA and LLM in Law at Downing College, University of Cambridge. He is a member of the Editorial Boards of Historical Materialism: Research in Critical Marxist Theory and the London Review of International Law. He is also a member of the Isaac and Tamara Memorial Prize Prize Committee and sits on the board of the Left Book Club. Robert's research interests broadly encompass the relationship between law and the political-economic structures of capitalism. He has specific expertise on public international law, particularly on its relationship to race and empire; public law, with a focus on its relationship to neoliberalism, and legal theory, especially critical and Marxist approaches to the law.
Registration
This seminar is in–person, and refreshments will be provided. If you would like to attend, please register here.
Contact Us
If you have any queries, please email Caoimhe Ring. If you would like to join the group’s mailing list, please send a blank email to: oxford-lpe-subscribe@maillist.ox.ac.uk. You can also stay in contact by following our Twitter page (@LPE_Oxford).