Mitchell on Re-affirming and Rejecting the Rescue Narrative as an Impetus For War @DrLynseyMitchel

Lynsey Mitchell, Leeds Law School, has published Re-affirming and rejecting the rescue narrative as an impetus for war: to war for a woman in A Song of Ice and Fire, 12 Law and Humanities 229 (2018).  Here is the abstract.

From Paris’ capture of Helen in Homer’s Iliad, and the resulting 10-year war in retaliation, Western literature has a long tradition of narrativising the turn to war as a dispute in service of a woman. Yet in contemporary Western legal accounts it is assumed that legal arch-positivism now governs the decision to go to war, and so any such action can be considered rational and just. However, contemporary turns to war are increasingly invoking just war theory that is wrapped in a similar patriarchal gender narrative. George RR Martin’s ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’ evokes the European tradition of war in the middle ages, but also explores modern aspects of liberalism, statehood, and international relations. This paper explores how the turn to war is narrativised and understood by various characters in the novels. It does so in order to demonstrate how calls to war rooted in chivalry and protectionism can gain more currency than those rooted in legalist language, but outlines how this then perpetuates and cements a regressive view of women as passive and helpless. This article ultimately calls for an alternative account of law’s understanding of war which does not invoke the rescuer paradigm, and so offers potential reimagining of contemporary justifications for war.

Garon on Fandom and Creativity, Including Fan Art, Fan Fiction, and Cosplay @NSULawCollege

Jon Garon, Shepard Broad College of Law, has published Fandom and Creativity, Including Fan Art, Fan Fiction, and Cosplay. Here is the abstract.

Fandom has grown into a sufficiently important cultural phenomenon that it has engendered a number of scholarly journals, books, and conferences. As with any academic discipline, there are a multitude of theories and schools of thought on the cultural significance and motivating structure of these communities. These studies tend to focus on the complex relationship between the fan community and the producers of the creative works. While the theoretical understanding of this dynamic tension is worthy of study, the focus of this chapter is primarily on the practical implications of these phenomena and the Con organizer’s ability to foster these relationships.

Download the article from SSRN at the link.

Legal History and Rules of Succession In "Game of Thrones"

Jaakko Husa, University of Lapland Faculty of Law, has published Exploring Imaginative Legal History: The Legalism of the House Stark in the Game of Thrones at 20 Media & Arts Law Review 181 (2015). Here is the abstract.

This article examines George R R Martin’s imaginative historical narrative in his book series A Song of Ice and Fire. The first book of the series (A Game of Thrones) is highlighted and discussed from the points of view of legal history and applied legal theory. The article concentrates on the legal mentality of one of the noble Houses in A Game of Thrones and discusses Martin’s rich narrative in its relation to the real feudal legal history and jurisprudential frameworks it displays. Analysis focuses on the rules of succession. It will be argued that even though the House Stark’s attitude and mentality can be labelled as legalistic and surprisingly modern it can be seen as a natural part of the imaginative feudal world of A Game of Thrones. The article concludes that, by studying the legalistic attitude and mentality of the House Stark, we can also learn about the legal theoretical nature of modern legalism. Paradoxically, it is also suggested that the study of imaginative legal history deepens our understanding of ‘real’ legal history. Moreover, the author argues that analysis of imaginative legal history expands our legal mind and immerses us in alternative horizons of law.

Download the article from SSRN at the link.

And We Thought Game of Thrones Was Just the Wars of the Roses

Reading (or re-reading) Game of Thrones with a Marxist gloss, here  (in the Guardian) and yes, well, perhaps not, here (in Jacobin Magazine).

Law, Political Economy, and "Game of Thrones"

Matthew McCaffrey, University of Manchester, Manchester Business School, and Carmen Elena Dorobăt are publishing 'We Do Not Sow': The Economics and Politics of A Song of Ice and Fire in Capitalism and Commerce in Imaginative Literature (Ed Younkins, ed., Lexington Books, 2015).
Here is the abstract.

George R.R. Martin's fantasy epic A Song of Ice and Fire brilliantly illustrates a number of basic principles of political economy. In particular, the richness of his world allows for a detailed account of economic and political relations in human society, and the saga uses its fantasy setting to dramatize and explore important questions about power, conflict, and the state. This essay discusses three economic themes in A Song of Ice and Fire. First, Martin's novels illustrate some fundamental ideas about political institutions, showing that organized economic exploitation is the foundation of the state. Second, they dramatize the relationship between war-making and public finance, describing the immense (networks of) political power created through control of the treasury, as well as the political logic that drives Lord Baelish and the Lannisters from taxation to borrowing to inflation in order to sustain and conceal the crown's war debt. Third, we examine how the rhetoric of Westeros's ruling class prevents the emergence of institutions friendly to peace and social cooperation, especially in the form of market exchange.

Download the essay from SSRN at the link.

Lawyers and Game of Thrones

Over at Concurring Opinions, Dave Hoffman is posting the transcripts of some very interesting interviews he has conducted with Game of Thrones author G. R. R. Martin. Game of Thrones is now a huge hit on HBO.  See here, here, and here. In the second interview, Mr. Martin discusses the role of lawyers Game of Thrones, which takes the York/Lancaster Wars of the Roses for some of its inspiration. On the Game of Thrones series, see:

Game of Thrones and Philosophy: Logic Cuts Deeper Than Swords (Henry Jacoby, ed., Wiley, 2012) (Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series). Available in print and ebook formats.