Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: German colonialism was limited both in terms of its duration (1884–1919) and in terms of its geographical expanse (mainly to southwest Africa). Footnote 1 These limitations notwithstanding, it is high time that we ‘understand the role played by law and legal scholarship in German colonialism and their responsibility for and involvement in the continuity of colonial structures’ (Introduction, p. 1). Footnote 2 For ‘the effects on German law...after the actual, formal colonial period have scarcely been addressed by scholars to date’ (ibid). The book has three points of focus (pp. 1–2) corresponding to its three main sections: (i) German colonialism (1885-1919, ‘colonial era’), (ii) the ‘postcolonial era’ (after Germany’s loss of its colonies in 1919) and its after-effects in the Weimar Republic and beyond, and (iii) ‘contexts and current controversies’, which deals with ‘the extent to which colonial dimensions or aspects of postcolonial theory are relevant in current legal debates’ (p. 2). A masterly epilogue by Alexandra Kemmerer (pp. 619 ff.), presenting ‘observations and afterthoughts’ (p. 646) that summarise and expand on the preceding observations, concludes the volume.
Source: Criminal Law Forum
Author: Kai Ambos
Institution: University of Göttingen
Language: English
Subfield: Literature and Literary Theory
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,190
OpenAlex ID: W4405316350