The Politics of (Legal) Intertextuality

Abstract

Interdisciplinary research can be a struggle and often enough, scholars do systematically misunderstand each other. IR scholars and international lawyers do engage in rather different projects — even when the former are increasingly interested in international legal norms or the legalization of world politics. However, I think one cannot simply blame “disciplinary boundaries” for these misunderstandings. In IR and International Law, we face “paradigmatic divides” that, more often than not, transcend disciplinary boundaries. To illustrate this point, the concept of intertextuality is quite useful. Intertextuality is used by international lawyers and IR theorists alike. I argue that this provides a chance to consider law in its societal environment and thus the position of law therein. Finally, intertextuality also allows for a critical scholarship in both International Law and IR.

Keywords: International Relations, International Law, Interdisciplinarity, Intertextuality, international Political Sociology