At the Origins of Modernity: Francisco de Vitoria and the Discovery of International Law

Description

This book is based on an international project conducted by the Institute for European Studies of the University CEU San Pablo in Madrid and a seminar on Vitoria and International Law which took place on July 2nd 2015 in the convent of San Esteban, the place where Vitoria spent his most productive years as Chair of Theology at the University of Salamanca. It argues that Vitoria not only lived at a time bridging the Middle Ages and Modernity, but also that his thoughts went beyond the times he lived in, giving us inspiration for meeting current challenges that could also be described as “modern” or even post-modern. There has been renewed interest in Francisco de Vitoria in the last few years, and he is now at the centre of a debate on such central international topics as political modernity, colonialism, the discovery of the “Other” and the legitimation of military interventions. All these subjects include Vitoria’s contributions to the formation of the idea of modernity and modern international law. The book explores two concepts of modernity: one referring to the post-medieval ages and the other to our times. It discusses the connections between the challenges that the New World posed for XVIth century thinkers and those that we are currently facing, for example those related to the cyberworld. It also addresses the idea of international law and the legitimation of the use of force, two concepts that are at the core of Vitoria’s texts, in the context of “modern” problems related to a multipolar world and the war against terrorism. This is not a historical book on Vitoria, but a very current one that argues the value of Vitoria’s reflections for contemporary issues of international law. Front Matter ....Pages i-vi Introduction: Francisco de Vitoria and the Origins of the Modern Global Order (Anthony Pagden)....Pages 1-17 Front Matter ....Pages 19-19 From the “Imago Dei” to the “Bon Sauvage”: Francisco de Vitoria and the Natural Law School (Franco Todescan)....Pages 21-43 The Sovereignty of Law in the Works of Francisco de Vitoria (Simona Langella)....Pages 45-61 Vitoria, the Common Good and the Limits of Political Power (André Azevedo Alves)....Pages 63-75 The Problem of Eurocentrism in the Thought of Francisco de Vitoria (Andrew Fitzmaurice)....Pages 77-93 On the Spanish Founding Father of Modern International Law: Camilo Barcia Trelles (1888–1977) (Yolanda Gamarra)....Pages 95-115 Front Matter ....Pages 117-117 Francisco de Vitoria on the “Just War”: Brief Notes and Remarks (Mauro Mantovani)....Pages 119-139 Prevention and Intervention in Francisco de Vitoria’s Theory of the Just War (Francisco Castilla Urbano)....Pages 141-153 Francisco de Vitoria on Self-defence, Killing Innocents and the Limits of “Double Effect” (Jörg Alejandro Tellkamp)....Pages 155-173 Front Matter ....Pages 175-175 Francisco de Vitoria and the Postmodern Grand Critique of International Law (Pablo Zapatero Miguel)....Pages 177-195 Francisco de Vitoria and the Nomos of the Code: The Digital Commons and Natural Law, Digital Communication as a Human Right, Just Cyber-Warfare (Johannes Thumfart)....Pages 197-217