Introduction to Symposium on Transnational Futures of International Labor Law

Abstract

The essay introduces an AJIL Unbound symposium on the Transnational Futures of International Labor Law. The contributions to the symposium take stock of the accomplishments and challenges of the International Labor Organization (ILO) on the occasion of its centennial, and they articulate different visions for an inclusive future that considers transnational framings of workplace standards and labor rights. By closely and critically exploring how the ILO can foreground its social justice mandate, the symposium's contributors seek to catalyze further engagement with and beyond an institution that, in a moment of deep populist discontent, wisely and urgently persists in seeking peace through social justice.

Keywords: ILO, international labor organization, transnational law, populism, international organizations, centennial, centenary, worker rights, workplace conditions