Dr Eric Loefflad

Dr Eric Loefflad is a Senior Lecturer in Law at the University of Exeter. 

Broadly specialising in Public International Law, his research is highly interdisciplinary and draws upon global history, historical sociology, intellectual history, political theory, international relations theory, and political geography/geopolitics.

In particular, Eric is interested in the world-historical co-evolution of international legal thought and modern political consciousness with special reference to the intertwined legacies of land-based and maritime forms of imperialism. Focusing heavily on the place of international law in the construction of peripheral and semi-peripheral regions – especially Eastern Europe/Russia, the Middle East, Latin America/the Caribbean, Southern Africa, and East Asia – he is an active member of the emerging 'Second World Approaches to International Law' movement. Additionally, alongside Dr Vicky Kapogianni (Reading), he has undertaken numerous projects on international law's role in the production of maritime space. This has included co-editing the collection Genocide and the Ocean and co-authoring the article 'China’s Maritime Militias, Human Rights, and the Law of the Sea: Contested Norms in a Shifting International Legal Order' that was awarded the Aldo Leucci and Ortensio Degli Atti Award for best contribution to Volume 4 of the Associazione di Consulenza in Diritto del Mare's Yearbook on the Law of the Sea.

Furthermore, he is deeply interested in the role of private law reasoning and substance as under-explored areas within the theory and practice of international law – especially as they shape patterns of global distribution.

In the domain of teaching, Eric has extensive experience with both international legal and private law subjects – particularly Property and Equity & Trusts in the later instance. At Exeter, he currently convenes the Undergraduate Dissertation/Research Paper modules and is deeply passionate about aiding students in developing their skills as critical and insightful researchers.

Prior to arriving in Exeter, he was a Lecturer in Law at the University of Kent where he was active in the Centre for Critical International Law and developed innovative practices for incorporating media and cultural studies into the teaching of property and international law adjacent subjects.