CFP Transnational Value Chains and International Law

 

Call for Papers

Transnational Value Chains and International Law

 December 3–5, 2025, Universidad EAFIT, Medellín, Colombia

We invite paper proposals for an international conference on “Transnational Value Chains and International Law.” This gathering, which builds upon the recently published Medellín Manifesto on Transnational Value Chains and International Law, aims to interrogate the role of international law in an era defined by global production networks and economic interdependence. The Medellín Manifesto (London Review of International Law, 2025) calls for a critical, multidisciplinary research agenda that treats global value chains as transnational value chains (TVCs)—“amorphous and transnational legal creatures” operating beyond traditional international law regimes. In the spirit of the Manifesto, this conference will foster critical, legally sophisticated, multidisciplinary, and normatively curious inquiry into the nexus of transnational value chains and international law. We seek to channel traditions of both critical and pragmatic/positivist international law scholarship, as well as the insights of practitioners, to rethink how international legal norms, institutions, and discourses engage with the complexities of today’s global production arrangements.

Five Guiding Axes of Inquiry

Building on the Manifesto’s research agenda, the conference is organized around five broad axes of inquiry—What? When? Who? Where? How?—each opening up critical questions for debate:

 

What? What is the nature of contemporary transnational value chains, and what normative questions do they pose? We encourage analyses that probe the very definition of “trade” and economic exchange under globalization. TVCs bundle goods, services, and information in ways that defy classical categories—“a ‘bundled’ deeper trade […] tangled with intangibles” impacting “broader relational impacts” on the environment, labor, gender, race, and more. What legal concepts or regimes might capture these complex realities, and what values are at stake?

 

When? When do historical and temporal dimensions come into play? TVCs are in part “a present expression of past colonial legacies” often propelling historical injustices and inequalities into the future. We invite papers that situate transnational value chains in time: How do colonial-era economic arrangements and legal structures persist or transform in today’s chains? How might international law address or redress the longue durée of exploitation—now and going forward— by reimagining frameworks to avoid reproducing past wrongs?

Who? – Who are the actors of transnational value chains, and who wields power or bears responsibility? A vast constellation of participants is involved—multinational corporations, state- owned enterprises, investors, states, international organizations, NGOs, supply-chain workers,

local communities, and even the natural environment—yet traditional international law “provides an insufficient framework to account for” this plurality, pluralism, or (perhaps) overlapping co-op. We welcome scholarship that critically and practically examines corporate power and personhood, the role of states and international institutions, and the agency of those often rendered invisible. Who drives the normative agendas of TVCs, and who should be held accountable for their social and economic impacts?

 

Where? Where do we locate transnational value chains in legal space? TVCs operate across multiple scales and jurisdictions—transnational, global, regional, national, local—challenging the Westphalian orientation of law. Indeed, “in the eyes of the law at least, TVCs are not global”; they do not fit neatly into any single jurisdiction. We seek contributions that explore questions of space and scale: the gaps between global economic activity and territorially-bounded legal authority, the North-South dynamics of value distribution, and the sites (courts, arbitral tribunals, international forums, local communities) where law encounters the chain. How and where can law be made effective in governing cross-border corporate conduct?

How? – How should we study and regulate transnational value chains? Critical scholars are asked to reflect on methodology and the visible versus invisible aspects of TVCs. As the Manifesto notes, much of what happens in global value chains is either unseen by international law or actively invisibilised (this is an important point for us). We are interested in how interdisciplinary methods (law with political economy, sociology, anthropology, etc.) can illuminate the hidden structures of production and exchange. How do we expose the private norms, informal practices, and power relations that underpin TVCs? How might international law be reinvented or repurposed to address what lies beyond its current sight? We encourage normatively curious approaches that question entrenched assumptions and explore innovative legal responses to the challenges of global supply networks.

 

These five axes are intended as provocations rather than limitations. They collectively map a broad research horizon, from doctrinal questions to political economy critiques. By keeping an eye on the peripheries of the international legal order—its gaps, blind spots, and limits—we hope to generate fresh insights into how law both shapes and is shaped by transnational value chains. Ultimately, the conference aims to push critical international legal scholarship to engage deeply with the political, social, and economic textures of global production.

 

Submission Guidelines and Key Dates

We invite submissions from scholars (including early-career researchers and doctoral candidates) in international law, international political economy, economics, sociology, development studies, geography, anthropology, and related disciplines. Contributions adopting critical, interdisciplinary perspectives are especially welcome.

Submission Deadline: 1 August 2025 – Please submit an abstract of up to 500 words (outlining your paper’s argument, methodology, and relevance to the conference theme) and a short bio by

this date. Submissions should be sent via email to the Conference Organizing Committee at

2025conferencetvcintlaw@gmail.com in PDF format.

Notification of Acceptance: 31 August 2025 – Authors will be notified of acceptance by this date. A draft outline (around 5000 words) will be expected by November 15 for circulation to panel commentators, to be developed further after comments and discussion.

 

Conference Dates: 3–5 December 2025 – The conference will be held in person at Universidad EAFIT in Medellín, Colombia. Online participation will be available with limited exception. The conference will feature three thematic expert panels, one keynote lecture, and poster presentations along with informal discussions during breaks, all centered on themes related to the above axes. Participants will have the opportunity to engage with members of the Medellín Group (authors of the Manifesto) and many other leading experts. The following personalities have so far confirmed attendance: Professor Claire Cutler, Professor Diane Desierto, Professor Christian Tietje, Professor René Urueña and Giovanny Vega-Barbosa, International lawyer and former head of Colombia's investment arbitration group.

 

Post-Conference Publication: Following the event, a selection of papers will be developed into an edited volume (anticipated publication in 2026-2027). Final contributions will be due during the first quarter of 2026 to begin the peer review and editing process.

 

Join us in Medellín for a thought-provoking exploration of transnational value chains through the lens of international law!

We look forward to receiving your proposals and to an event that pushes the boundaries of critical and practical inquiry, in pursuit of new understandings of what, when, who, where, and how international law functions in transnational value chains for both researchers and practitioners. Please refer to the full text of the Medellín Manifesto for inspiration and context.

For any inquiries, contact the organizers at 2025conferencetvcintlaw@gmail.com. While we encourage participants to use institutional or other funds where available, limited funding will be provided to applicants on an as-needed basis. If you anticipate the need for funding to travel to Medellín, please mention this when you submit your abstract. (Please rest assured that this will have no bearing on whether the abstract is accepted.)

We eagerly anticipate your contributions to what we expect will be a unique, vibrant, and certainly hope will be an impactful scholarly conversation.

 

In Memoriam

The Medellín Group is deeply saddened by the passing of Professor Susan Sell, who was a member of this group and whose work inspired our Medellín Manifesto. We are privileged to build on her legacy as we move this project forward. Our 2025 Conference is dedicated to her memory.