Collège De France (général)

Samantha BessonDroit international des institutionsCollège de FranceAnnée 2023-2024Conférence - Lauri Mälksoo : Soviet Union and International Law: Intellectual Origins of Russia's War against UkraineLauri Mälksoo est invité par l'assemblée du Collège de France, sur proposition de la Pr Samantha Besson.La conférence est en anglais.RésuméIn its attempts to justify its war (or 'special military operation') against Ukraine, Russia has used multiple and partly contradictory legal or legally relevant arguments. This lecture explores some intellectual origins of these arguments and tropes, focusing in particular on the Soviet legacy in international law. How did the Soviet government and jurists understand international law and how did these understandings change over time (1917-1991)? The argument of this lecture is that understanding the Soviet legacy in international law helps us enormously to understand Russia's international legal positions in Ukraine as well. Although Putin says that the Bolsheviks put a 'tic