ABSTRACT
In this introduction to the edited volume International Law and Posthuman Theory, posthuman theory is situated as sitting between the convergence of, on the one hand, critical posthumanism, that is, the critique of the white, heterosexual, able-bodied man as the central focus of Western thought (including legal thought) and post-anthropocentrism on the other, that is, the idea that the human sits in hierarchy over nature, matter, nonhuman animals and machines. Drawing on the growing body of posthuman international legal scholarship, the introduction shows how posthuman theory may be helpful to international law and legal analyses as well as how this body of scholarship enters into conversation with related concerns and ongoing debates in international law. Positioning the chapters of the volume in context of both posthuman and international legal scholarship and practice, this introduction, moreover, provides concrete examples of how to approach some of the most pressing concerns of our own time.
