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This important book explores critically the main intersections between Inter- national Law and the nonhuman in the contemporary world. Emily Jones’s bold interdisciplinary approach exposes the limitations of the Humanism and Anthropocentrism inherent to International Law, while re-asserting the Law’s commitment to face the challenges of the posthuman predicament. Foremost among them, the regulation of human-machine interaction in military technologies and the status of nature in Environmental Law. Pragmatic, but theoretically savvy, Jones combines critique with creativity by proposing alternative sources that many help overcome legal liberalism. Posthuman Feminism, Queering the Nonhuman, Indigenous Epistemolo- gies, New Materialism and the Rights of Nature movement are just some of the toolkits this remarkable book provides as a way forward. Emily Jones holds legal discourse accountable but also confirms its ability to change and construct more inclusive, sustainable and just worlds. A major work that will leave a mark. Rosi Braidotti, Distinguished Professor Emerita, Utrecht University, the Netherlands Anchoring us in new possibilities, this impressive work explains what posthuman feminist perspectives offer to the urgent task of superseding international law’s deadly imperial anthropocentrism by fostering legal systems capable of sustaining life in all its forms. Drawing on a staggering array of interdisciplinary critical scholarship, Jones illustrates some of the par- adigm shifts that are necessary if we, and the planet, are to survive (let alone flourish) in these posthuman times. To illustrate, she engages adeptly with current debates in two areas of international law – the regulation of lethal military technologies and international environmental law. Along the way Jones remains cognisant of the many tensions that can compromise or co-opt feminist efforts to change international law’s neoliberal humanist orientation from within, readily acknowledging that posthuman feminist change is also necessary outside the law and may even require a turning away from law. Dianne Otto, Melbourne Law School, Australia In this meticulously researched and beautifully written book, Emily Jones draws on posthuman feminism to both highlight and question international law’s constitutive boundaries: human/nature, human/technology and, per- haps above all, the boundaries imposed upon feminist legal theory in the field. By applying a radically egalitarian feminist framework to the laws of war and international environmental law, Jones reveals that some of the most urgent problems of our times, war, climate change and anti-feminist backlash, are much more interconnected than we might have thought. Ntina Tzouvala, Associate Professor, ANU College of Law, Australian National University FEMINIST THEORY AND INTERNATIONAL LAW Feminist approaches to international law have been mischaracterised by the main- stream of the discipline as being a niche field that pertains only to women’s lived experiences and their participation in decision-m aking processes. Exemplifying how feminist approaches can be used to analyse all areas of international law, this book applies posthuman feminist theory to examine the regulation of new and emerging military technologies, international environmental law and the conceptualisation of the sovereign state and other modes of legal personality in international law. Noting that most posthuman scholarship to date is primarily theoretical, this book also contributes to the field of posthumanism through its application of posthuman feminism to international law, working to bridge the theory and practice divide by using posthuman feminism to design and call for legal change. This interdisciplinary book draws on an array of fields, including philosophy, queer and feminist theories, postcolonial and critical race theories, computer science, critical disability studies, science and technology studies, marine biology, cultural and media studies, Indigenous onto- epistemologies, critical legal theory, political science and beyond to provide a holistic analysis of international law and its inclusions and exclusions. This interdisciplinary book will appeal to students and scholars with interests in legal, feminist and posthuman theory, as well as those concerned with the contemporary challenges faced by international law. Dr Emily Jones is a NUAcT Fellow based in Newcastle Law School, Newcastle University, UK. FEMINIST THEORY AND INTERNATIONAL LAW Posthuman Perspectives Emily Jones Designed cover image: © Getty Images First published 2023 by Routledge 4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158 a GlassHouse book Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2023 Emily Jones The right of Emily Jones to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing- in- Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN: 978- 1- 032- 04389- 0 (hbk) ISBN: 978- 1- 032- 42690- 7 (pbk) ISBN: 978- 1- 003- 36379- 8 (ebk) DOI: 10.4324/9781003363798 Typeset in Bembo by SPi Technologies India Pvt Ltd (Straive) CONTENTS Acknowledgements viii Note on the Text x List of Acronyms xi Introduction: Posthuman Feminism and International Law 1 1 International Law and the Nonhuman 27 2 Human and Machine: Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems 56 3 Regulating Military Technologies: Between Resistance and Compliance 84 4 Queering the Nonhuman: Engaging International Environmental Law 110 5 The Subjectivity of Matter: The Rights of Nature in International Law 128 6 Posthuman Feminism: Reworlding Exits from Liberal Legalism 153 Bibliography 165 Index 197 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS While I am listed as the sole author, I could not have written this book without the support and inspiration of many others. Thank you to Gina Heathcote for her unwavering support of my work, both when writing my thesis and then when trans- forming that thesis into this book. Enormous thanks must also go to Rosi Braidotti, who was not only a brilliant PhD examiner but also took it upon herself to become a mentor to me. My deep gratitude also extends to Dianne Otto, who has likewise mentored me, always believing in me, my work and this book. I have learnt a great deal from these three feminist women and am deeply indebted to each of them. Thank you to Rosi Braidotti, Dianne Otto, Alice Finden, Ntina Tzouvala, Anna Grear, Noam Lubell, John Williams and Gina Heathcote for providing extremely helpful feedback on some of the later versions of the chapters of this book. Passages of this book were also inspired by conversations with and the feedback of Yoriko Otomo and Vanja Hamzić, both of whom provided poignant guidance at key moments when I was writing my thesis. With thanks to both. I wrote various parts of this book while visiting other institutions. In 2019, I was lucky enough to be a Kathleen Fitzpatrick Visiting Fellow at the Laureate Program in International Law at Melbourne Law School, hosted by Anne Orford. Parts of this text were written there while other parts were inspired by conversations with colleagues on the programme. With special thanks to Anne for the opportunity and for her support. During the course of my PhD, I undertook a visiting research position at Sciences Po Paris. Thank you to Emmanuelle Tourme- Jouannet for her guidance during that time, and for being so welcoming and generous. I also wrote parts of this text while undertaking a visiting research position at the Institute for Cultural Inquiry (ICON) at Utrecht University in 2020. Thank you to Rosi Braidotti for the invitation which provided me with invaluable research time. Acknowledgements ix I am very lucky to have met many people who have been willing to help guide me in this project over the years, including Ratna Kapur, Christine Chinkin, Louise Arimatsu, Loveday Hodson, Grietje Baars, Rahul Rao, Hilary Charlesworth, Matilda Arvidsson and Keina Yoshida. With thanks to each for their guidance and for the many inspiring conversations. Thank you to all my colleagues at the University of Essex for being so welcoming, friendly and supportive and for seeing my potential before I had even fin- ished my PhD. With special thanks to Patricia Palacios Zuloaga for her friendship, Meagan Wong for being my international law co- conspirator and to Kai Yin Low, Daragh Murray and Carla Ferstman for their belief in and support of my research. I am grateful to Jérémie Gilbert, Elizabeth Macpherson and Julia Dehm for our conversations on the rights of nature, many of which informed the writing of Chapter 5. I would like to thank my PhD colleagues at SOAS University of London, for being part of the journey with me and for being there to support and guide me when needed. My thanks go to Jana Cattien, Sheri Labenski, Akanksha Mehta, Sabiha Allouche, Haje Keli, Siavash Eshghi, Hanns Kendal and Jacquelyn Strey and, at the time postdoctoral researcher, Bérénice K. Schramm. Thank you to Goda Klumbytė, Ruth Clemens, Fiona Hillary and Kay Sidebottom, my fellow posthuman kin, for being such a great source for support and for always reminding me of the importance of reworlding. I have come to learn that one cannot underestimate the value of a supportive editor. Thank you to my editor, Colin Perrin at Routledge, for his enthusiasm right from the moment I reached out to him to the concluding stages of writing this book. I am grateful to all my students at SOAS University of London and the University of Essex, from 2014 until the present, for teaching me more than I could ever have taught them. I would also like to thank my A level teachers who pushed me to believe in myself, properly, for the first time. Special thanks to Dave Brock, my first ever law teacher, who put up with cheeky teenage Emily, his belief in my potential never wavering. Thank you to my friends and family. In particular, I am deeply grateful to my parents and to Rachel, Anneke, Rosi, Hamida, Di, Jana, Patricia, Gina, Hanns, Miranda, Sheri, Steph and Jasper. Thank you, Alice, for the best of times.