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International Law in Asia (LAWS90315)
Graduate courseworkPoints: 12.5On Campus (Parkville)
About this subject
Contact information
May
Teaching staff:
Yilin Wang (Subject Coordinator)
For current student enquiries, contact the Law School Academic Support Office
Overview
| Availability(Quotas apply) | May - On Campus |
|---|---|
| Fees | Look up fees |
This subject explores international law from an Asian perspective, with a focus on China’s changing role in the world. Participants will learn how international law has developed in the region — from the era of empires and colonialism to today’s global institutions. By tracing China’s role in these developments in conversation with its neighbours, the subject helps students understand how legal events, political ideas, and global power shifts shape the way international law works in Asia today. The subject aims to build critical thinking skills and offers new ways to understand international law from regionally diverse experiences.
Indicative list of principal topics:
- Colonialism and International Law
- Unequal Treaties and Extraterritoriality
- Monroe Doctrine in Asia
- The Rise of China in the International Legal Order
Intended learning outcomes
A student who has successfully completed this subject should be able to:
- Examine international law in the Asian context.
- Critically analyse the history and theory embedded in the intersection of colonialism and international law.
- Acquire and apply a range of theoretical approaches to understanding and critiquing international law's Euro-centric imperatives.
- Actively engage in debates around the legal and political economic dimensions of post-colonial injustice and Asian subjectivities.
Generic skills
- Redescribe a range of critical legal concepts in international law;
- Critcally analyse law with an appreciation of theory and history;
- Develop skills to find research materials;
- Engage actively in polemic debates about history, politics and law.
Last updated: 6 November 2025