The distribution of technology and the conditions of its creation, commercialisation and use have become an intense site of contestation in international law. More technologically powerful states and regions have pursued strong intellectual property protections, the institution of export controls, and the assertion of forms of technological sovereignty. The visible enrolment of research and development corporations in the security state and in projects of bordering and reindustrialisation has been joined by growing anxiety about these corporations as a challenge to established forms of government. The wholesale transformations of technological infrastructures for which scientists and policymakers have called, in the context of climate change, remain largely unheeded, while there is mounting concern around investment in and potential use of unrealistic or catastrophic technologies. Meanwhile, some states seeking more liberated conditions of technological transfer or invoking rights to peaceful use of technologies are themselves pursuing projects of militarisation, surveillance and unequal forms of regional ordering. 

In this moment of intensifying technological rivalry and ecological collapse, what possibilities remain for asserting more emancipatory visions of the creation, use and distribution of technology: for a technology from below? How might the struggles of social movements and of new Third Worldist coalitions be translated into an international law for our current technological moment? How should international lawyers and legal scholars understand our role in these projects? How has growing social or ecological awareness of oppressive forms of technological power manifested in new arguments, doctrines or coalitions across international legal fields and sites? How might the changing role of technology in society push us to critically reflect on the doctrines, principles, institutions, or subjects that are central to the professional practice of international law?

Dr Anna Saunders and Dr Wanshu Cong are bringing together leading Australian and international scholars for a one-day workshop on the theme of international law and technology from below, to be held at the ANU Law School on 13 August 2025. 

There are a small number of places remaining for engaged participants. Those interested in attending should contact anna.saunders@anu.edu.au