The African Legal Studies blog is a platform where human rights, environmental law as well as regional integration law research meets interdisciplinary perspectives, always emphasizing mutual exchange. Here you can explore our symposia.
Symposium with Law and Development Conversations Blog: Rethinking Legal Research in and with Africa
This symposium emerged from the early career workshop Rethinking Legal Research in and with Africa: Legal Methods, Critical Perspectives, and Decolonial Approaches in the Context of Human Rights and Sustainable Development, which took place from 16–18 March 2026 at the University of Antwerp as a collaborative event organised by the Law and Development Research Group at the University of Antwerp together with the Chair of African Legal Studies at the University of Bayreuth.
The initial idea for this workshop was to bring early-career researchers from Antwerp and Bayreuth together, having identified overlapping interests between the two research institutions. As planning progressed, more colleagues joined the conversation, ultimately bringing together a diverse and inspiring audience of around 35 bright and kind minds.
The endeavour to critically rethink legal research in and with Africa – something that is not new at all – is clearly an exercise that takes more than three days. The workshop was therefore largely designed as a forum for joint exchange and learning, with a key element being a co-creative session in which the participants worked on joint blog contributions.
A case for African perspectives in Law and Anthropology: beyond data and disciplinary boundaries
This blog piece is part of our ongoing “Rethinking Legal Research in and with Africa” symposium. To access the introduction explaining the framework, click here (ALS / LDC), to access the overview of the symposium click here (ALS / LDC).…
Moving Beyond Positivism and Western-Centric Thinking in Francophone Legal Academia
This blog piece is part of our ongoing “Rethinking Legal Research in and with Africa” symposium. To access the introduction explaining the framework, click here (ALS / LDC), to access…
Symposium Rethinking Legal Research in and with Africa: Setting the stage
Introduction Welcome to the Rethinking Legal Research in and with Africa blog symposium where the africanlegalstudies.blog and the Law and Development Conversations Blog join forces! This symposium emerged from the…
Symposium with Verfassungsblog: Unmasking the Intractable: Exploring Anti-Racism and the Law
The joint symposium between Verfassungsblog and the africanlegalstudies.blog critically addressed the enduring challenges of racial inequality within international and national legal frameworks. It examined the effectiveness of anti-racism laws, questioning whether their shortcomings arise from unrealistic expectations or inherent design flaws.
Unmasking the Intractable: Exploring Anti-Racism and the Law
Racism trends across the world reveal persistent and evolving challenges despite legislative efforts and advancements in social cohesion. In the EU, an ominous rising wave of far-right populism has exacerbated racial tensions, with increased incidents of hate crimes and discriminatory…
German police controls and structural racism
Since 15 March 2024, Germany has an ombudsperson for its federal police forces. The German Bundestag passed a law creating the Polizeibeauftragte des Bundes (federal police commissioner). The former MP…
Anti-Racism Law and its Limits
Contemplating the “Conceptual Blurriness of Race” By drawing upon insights of sociolegal thought, feminism and the US social context, this contribution argues that anti-racism law’s apparent ineffectiveness stems from its…
How the Judgment by the German Federal Constitutional Court on the German Debt Brake Entrenches Climate Injustice
As a major emitter of greenhouse gasses, Germany has a fundamental responsibility to show solidarity with developing countries suffering from the effects of climate change. This obligation is clear from…
Anti-Black Racism: Queer Europe’s Inconvenience beyond the Law
Drawing on conversations with a queer interlocutor who moved to Austria to escape persecution in their country of origin, I reflect on the limits of legal protection in the host…
Exploring Intersectionality as a Concept to Effectively Combat Racism and Racial and Ethnic Discrimination
Introduction This contribution aims to highlight the shortcomings of European and International anti-racism law with respect to discriminations based on nationality. It promotes the concept of intersectionality as a means…
Addressing racial discrimination through international law
The neglected potential of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination Introduction Why do anti-racism laws fail to combat racism effectively? That is the leading…
Why offshore processing of asylum applications is actually racist
In a series of legislative and policy changes including the Illegal Migration Act 2023, Nationality and Borders Act 2022, the New Plan for Immigration, the UK-Rwanda Migration and Economic Development…
Do Sanctions Work? Memories of a Rhodesian Childhood
Scene Setting I remember it clearly. Recently arrived in Oxford to start my postgraduate studies, I was visited in my room by one of my housemates. I offered her grapes.…
Why Teaching International Law Should Be an Antiracist Endeavour
The field of international law, developed in the shadow of colonialism and global power imbalances, has long been influenced by racial biases and hegemonic interests. These historical and systemic inequalities…