Published In
Transnational Environmental Law
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
8-27-2019
Subjects
Non-state actors, Agents, Experts, Transnational law scholarship, Life writing
Abstract
Legal scholars rely heavily on vocabularies of ‘actors’, ‘agents’, and ‘experts’ to account for the fact that law does not develop by itself. However, the identities, idiosyncrasies, and individual professional contributions of law’s people are rarely illuminated. This article suggests that the relative absence of people in transnational legal scholarship helps to explain some of its gaps. The task of bringing ‘human actors back on stage’ creates some new opportunities for transnational environmental law scholarship. It invites attention to both dominant and excluded voices. It offers a way of bridging the gap between the bureaucratic language of law and its lived reality. It also provides an understanding of why, despite ferocious attempts to roll back the advances of environmental law in some places, many scholars and practitioners find reason to be optimistic about the future of environmental law.
Citation Details
Natasha Affolder, "Transnational Environmental Law’s Missing People" (2019), online: Transnat'l Envtl L .