Seminar Law in the Anthropocene
Dozent: Dr. Johan Horst
Professur für Völkerrecht, Recht der EU und Internationale Beziehungen
Law in the Anthropocene
This seminar explores the fundamental challenges the law is faced with in the so-called Anthropocene, by examining influential theoretical approaches to the Anthropocene, as well as engaging with cutting-edge doctrinal debates, regulatory issues, and transformations of legal institutions.
The term ‘Anthropocene’ is used in a various of ways, including to describe a new geological era (Crutzen, 2002); a major rupture in our understanding of human history (Chakrabarty, 2012); an existential ecological crisis of the earth-system (Steffen et al, 2015); and the dissolution of the dichotomy between nature and culture, as well as between nature and humans (inter alia Latour, 2017; Descola, 2011). In law, the concept of the Anthropocene is primarily used to denote a comprehensive global ecological crisis, that ultimately threatens the survival of the human species on Earth. While some legal scholars rely on the concept of the Anthropocene to develop legal tools for addressing the associated ecological crisis, others dismiss it for reasons including its colonial and Eurocentric biases, its inherent anthropocentrism, and its emphasis on technological fixes to a deep-rooted socio-economic problem. However, the Anthropocene is no longer just a topic for theoretical debates. In recent years, a variety of doctrinal debates and specific regulatory issues have been discussed against the backdrop of the Anthropocene. Examples include the initiative for a non-use agreement on solar geoengineering, the shift toward biocultural diversity, gene-drives to eradicate malaria, and efforts to de-extinct certain large herbivores. Furthermore, the debate surrounding the Anthropocene has prompted scholars to reevaluate fundamental legal concepts such as rights, reignited the discourse on the sustainability of economic growth and has emphasized the role of scientific expertise in law.
In this seminar we will critically assess this legal debate on the Anthropocene and its theoretical, doctrinal, and regulatory implications. We will engage with cutting-edge, interdisciplinary issues that will shape the future of our planet.
The seminar will be held in English. While some prior knowledge of international (environmental) law and/or legal theory is helpful, it is not required.
Seminar Topics:
I. Concepts
1. Law and Planetary Boundaries
2. Earth-system law
3. Anthropocene, Capitalocene, Chthulucene, A critical appraisal of the concept of the Anthropocene-concept for international (environmental) law
4. The concept of biocultural diversity and its implications for biodiversity protection
5. Critical and postcolonial approaches to the law in the Anthropocene
6. Posthumanist and new-materialist approaches to the law in the Anthropocene
II. Climate Change
7. Beyond Paris, beyond 1,5°C: climate change law for a 4°C world?
8. Beyond international environmental law. The private law of climate change
9. Unilateralizing climate change law? Evaluating the EU‘s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM)
III. Engineering the Planet
10. The regulation of solar radiation modification (SRM) in international law
11. The regulation of carbon dioxide removal (CDR) in international law and EU law
12. A new governance regime for climate engineering?
IV. Engineering Life: Biodiversity
13. Eradicating invasive alien species (IAS) under international and EU law
14. The international regulation of gene drives to eradicate malaria
15. De-extinction and the international regulation of bringing back megaherbivores (e.g. mammoths)
V. A Political Economy of/for the Anthropocene: Degrowth or green growth?
16. The net zero emissions target in international law and Art. 20a GG
17. The law and economics of sufficient decoupling
18. Regulating the commons: the case of deep-sea mining
VI. Law and science in the Anthropocene
19. The role of climate science in climate litigation
20. The Legal aspects of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
21. The Legal aspects of the Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES)
VII. Rights in the Anthropocene
22. The role of human rights in the Anthropocene
23. The Anthropocene and the protection of the rights of future generations under international law
24. The Anthropocene and more-than-human rights 1: animal rights in international law
25. The Anthropocene and more-than-human rights 2: Rights of Nature (RoN) in the Americas, the EU, India, and New Zealand
VIII. Courts in the Anthropocene
26. The role of the global community of courts in the Anthropocene: Climate litigation in international, regional, and national fora
27. ICJ Advisory Opinion, 23 July 2025 – Obligations of states in respect of climate change
ORGANISATIONAL NOTES
The seminar will take place on January 30-31, 2026 (the exact schedule will depend on the final number of participants).
A preliminary meeting will take place on October 15, from 13:00 to 14:30 p.m. (4rd DS) in Room: TBA
Only after the meeting will it be possible to sign up for a topic.
Registration:
Registration for the seminar via OPAL will on Wednesday, October 15 at 15:00 p.m. and close on Sunday, October 19, 2025, 23:59 p.m. A waiting list is available.
Assignment of topics:
The assignment of topics begins on the same day, October 15 from 14:30 p.m. Double allocation of topics is possible. The allocation ends on Sunday, October 19, 2025, 23:59 p.m.
OPAL course: https://bildungsportal.sachsen.de/opal/auth/RepositoryEntry/51245547524
EXPECTED PERFORMANCE
A detailed outline (no more than one to two pages) of the paper must be submitted by Friday, November 21, 2025, at the latest to the following email address: johan.horst@tu-dresden.de. Timely submission is mandatory for continued participation in the seminar.
During the block seminar, the previous research findings and theses will be presented orally. The length of the presentation is approximately 20 minutes, or a maximum of 30 minutes if two topics are assigned (15 minutes per person). Approximately 40 minutes are allowed for the subsequent discussion. You are also welcome to prepare questions and hypotheses for the subsequent group discussion. The oral presentation counts for 10% of the final grade.
Participants must submit their seminar papers (18-20 pages, excluding the table of contents and bibliography, Times New Roman, font size 12, line spacing 1.5, footnotes: font size 10, single spacing) as pdf-documents via email to Johan Horst (johan.horst@tu-dresden.de) until January 29, 2026.