Past, present and context in the light of the historiography of International Law

The present paper aims to examine certain aspects of the historiography of International Law. To accomplish the present research, the emphasis has been descriptive and analytical study, mainly of literature and selected documents. It begins with a presentation of the general framework of the discipline's historiographical turn, followed by a discussion of certain controversial aspects of its colonial past, the power dimension intertwined in historical knowledge and, lastly, the contestation of the uncritical belief in the progress of history. These, altogether, compose the scenario of a critique of the historical method brought about by the contextual approach. It will be concluded with indications regarding the limits of contextual methodology, sided by a defense of the place of anachronic dimensions within critical histories.