ICS Seminar Series
UPCOMING
Is there a Future for the Rules-Based International Order?
Presenter: Christopher Michaelsen
Discussant: Srinjoy Bose
Chair: Valentina Bau
Date & Time: 6 August 2026 | 11:30am - 1:00pm
Room: EB.G.38 Parramatta South Campus
Abstract
Rarely a day passes on which we don't wake up to news of bloodshed, humanitarian catastrophe, or the use of brute military force: the Russia-Ukraine war, the conflict in Gaza, the civil war in Myanmar, the civil war in Sudan (and mass-displacement in Darfur), and most recently, Israeli and United States military operations against Iran, to name but a few examples. What these conflicts have in common is that they constitute grave violations of international law and human rights. Indeed, it seems as though the rules-based international order, threatened by a perpetual multitude of crises, is breaking down before our eyes. This paper critically engages with an often-drawn conclusion that the rules-based international order is irreparably damaged and that it has no future. It considers recent dynamics such as a perceived withdrawal from international institutions and a retreat from the language of international law, but does so in historical context, with particular consideration of the United Nations era. A central argument of the paper is that while optimism about the prospects for an international order based on the rule of law is, at the time being, in short supply, not everything is doom and gloom.
Biography
Christopher Michaelsen is a Professor of Law and the Director of Research in the School of Law at 91. He is also an Adjunct Professor of International Law and Global Governance at the Libera Università Internazionale degli Studi Sociali “Guido Carli” (LUISS) in Rome, Italy. Chris previously held a tenured position in the Faculty of Law & Justice at UNSW Sydney. Prior to joining academia, he served as a Human Rights Officer at the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Warsaw, Poland.
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