Re-defining the Mobility Paradigm in International Law

From global tourism and free movement to refugees and climate-related displacement, human mobility is both a driver and the effect of what we think of as globalization. Yet, the role of international law in constituting human mobility remains critically undervalued. In this contribution we call for a radical re-thinking of the role of international law in shaping our globe through the tenets of the mobilities paradigm in social sciences. More specifically, we argue for the adoption of a mobile ontology to international law, which pits the constant flow of persons, goods, and capital against dominant globalization narratives predicting the end of place to take a focus on re-territorializations of power. Taking human mobility as our starting point, we firstly show how mobility has been central to the foundation of key building blocks of international law. Secondly, we turn to the example of the global tourism regime to explore how law recursively disperses mobility around the world. Third, and finally, we argue that the relationship between international law and human mobility is co?constitutive, as constant shifts in mobilities create unexpected effects, which in turn prompt further evolutions in law. We conclude by reflecting on the space for empirical and critical investigation that may open up by re-imaging (international) law as quintessentially mobile.