New Books in Critical Theory Negar Mansouri and Daniel R. Quiroga-Villamarín eds., "Ways of Seeing International Organisations: New Perspectives for International Institutional Law" (Cambridge UP, 2025
Dec 13, 2025
Negar Mansouri, a postdoctoral researcher at Copenhagen Business School, and Daniel R. Quiroga-Villamarín, a postdoctoral fellow at NYU, delve into the limitations of current international institutional law. They critique the positivist approach that dominates the field and advocate for a more interdisciplinary perspective. Key discussions include the influence of technocratic framing on policy, the importance of physical spaces in international organizations, and the links between capitalism and institutional change. Their research aims to unravel the complexities of global governance.
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Law Of IOs Stuck In A Positivist Rut
- International institutional law is stuck in a positivist rut that depoliticizes IOs and their knowledge production.
- Negar Mansouri argues critical, sociological and historical lenses are needed to reveal IOs' political and material effects.
Conference Origin Story In Geneva
- Daniel and Negar met as PhD students in Geneva and shared frustration with the field's limits.
- Their conference in 2021 led directly to the edited volume challenging mainstream IO scholarship.
Four Themes Reframe IO Questions
- The book groups chapters into four themes: expertise, structure, performance, and capital to reframe IO questions.
- Daniel Quiroga‑Villamarín says this structure enables interdisciplinary conversations across law, STS, anthropology, and political economy.
