New Books in Intellectual History 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
Daniel R. Quiroga-Villamarín, a Colombian scholar, and Negar Mansouri, an Iranian researcher, discuss their co-edited volume challenging the conventional approaches to international institutional law. They highlight the need for critical perspectives, addressing issues like the dominance of positivism and the role of expertise in shaping governance. Their analysis delves into the impact of space and materiality on jurisdiction, the intersection of international organizations with capitalism, and the hidden political interests in technical knowledge.
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Project Began From PhD Frustration
- Daniel R. Quiroga-Villamarín and Negar Mansouri began the project as PhD students frustrated with limited scholarship.
- They organized a 2021 conference that became the basis for the book.
Law Of IOs Is Stuck In A Rut
- International institutional law is stuck in a positivist rut that depoliticizes IOs' social and economic contexts.
- Negar Mansouri argues critical, sociological, and historical approaches reveal power, materiality, and politics that doctrinal law misses.
Four Themes Reframe IO Scholarship
- The book groups new questions into four themes: expertise, structure, performance, and capital.
- Daniel R. Quiroga-Villamarín says this reframing opens interdisciplinary dialogues with STS, anthropology, history, and political economy.
