Monday, January 9, 2012

International Law... From Above

Are you interested in international affairs? Want to know what some of your faculty think about current events? Want to hear more from the folks at the Denver Journal of International Law and Policy? You can find all of those things, and more, at SCOL’s newest blog, The View From Above (TVFA). July 1, 2011, marked the first postings from The View From Above, the official blog of The Ved Nanda Center for International and Comparative Law, and the archives are already a great source of ideas for papers as well as source materials. Some of the topics on the blog have included: drones, responsibility to protect, China, corporate responsibility, piracy, Greek debt, South Sudan, Palestine, and the Arab Spring. (At least one posting has already had an inquiry re citing it in a paper.)

Here is how TVFA describes itself -

The View From Above is a Denver-based online publication dedicated to creating a forum where practitioners, professors and students can share ideas, debate and engage in an ongoing conversation about international law and foreign policy. In the long term, The View From Above aspires to become the primary online publication for high-level discussion on current international law developments as they occur. Through the use of the internet and social media, we hope to disseminate information in a meaningful way in order to bridge the gap between academics, practitioners, policymakers, and students. The View From Above hopes to advance the practice of international law by making the discussion of international legal issues as responsive to the rapidly changing landscape as technology will allow.

The TVFA is a great addition to SCOL’s already excellent, world-respected line up of international law resources, including the Ved Nanda Center for International and Comparative Law, and the Denver Journal of International Law and Policy (it was great to see the DJILP prominently displayed at the entry to the Peace Palace Library). The Nanda Center was created in 2006 with a gift from DU Law alum Douglas Scrivner, and, his wife, Mary. The DJILP was created by our own Professor Ved Nanda in 1971.

In addition to posts from Prof. Nanda, other bloggers include Professors Akerson and Wiersema, your fellow law students and members of the DJILP staff. Guest bloggers include former students and current staff. Jon Bellish was instrumental in putting together the final product, and he is an active blogger, too. And the project could not have come together without Karlyn Shorb, the Administrative Director of the Nanda Center.

Written by Joan Policastri, Foreign, Comparative & International Librarian