VUB Contextual Research in Law

  Abstract: This volume by both younger and more established specialists of legal, maritime, diplomatic, and political history covers the nuanced interplay of neutrality and the law of the sea within Western, Central, and Eastern Europe, emphasising the opening up of the world in the early modern period (i.e. Africa, North America, and the Caribbean). The various faces of neutrality, both in law and politics, appear through commercial, administrative, and geopolitical practical cases and in the writings of famous legal writers. By linking up different sets of knowledge, a kaleidoscope of power configurations and arguments guides the reader through the labyrinth of trade, sea power, and negotiations. Contributors are: Stefano Cattelan, Frederik Dhondt, John Freeman, Nora Naguib Leerberg, Christian Pfister-Langanay, Leos Müller, Stephen C. Neff, and Victor Wilson On the editors: Stefano Cattelan is Postdoctoral Researcher at the Faculty of Law and Criminology of the Vrije Universitei...

        The Worlds of Pre-Modern Neutrality (ca. 1400-1800):  Norms, Institutions and Practices    Antwerp, Hendrik Conscience Heritage Library - 8-9 May 2025   Convened by Stefano  Cattelan  & Frederik  Dhondt  (Vrije Universiteit Brussel)   Supported by FWO Junior Fundamental Research Project G016122N,  In the Shadow of the Great Powers: Freedom of the Sea and Neutrality in the Long Eighteenth Century  (2024-2026)  _____________________________________________________ (image source:  Conscience Heritage Library ) DAY 1 (May 8) Hendrik Conscienceplein 4, 2000 ANTWERP (Nottebohm Room) 9:30 – 9:45 - Welcoming  Stefano  Cattelan  & Frederik  Dhondt   9:45 – 10:45 - Keynote n.1 :  Silvia  Marzagalli  (Université Côte d’Azur), ‘ Eighteenth-century neutrality: a view from the sea’ 10:45 – 11:00: Coffee break    11:00 – 12:15 - Panel I  ...

  (image source: Brill ) dr. Stefano Cattelan published a research note in Grotiana  on the FWO-project "In the Shadow of the Great Powers: Freedom of the Sea and Neutrality in the Long Eighteenth Century" (2024-2026). Read the note on Brill's site: DOI 10.1163/18760759-20230005 .

(image source: NAM ) Dr. Stefano Cattelan wrote an article on Christian IV of Denmark for the Nuova Antologia Militaire. Abstract: During the reign of Christian IV Oldenburg (1588-1648), the Kingdom of Denmark-Norway reached the height of its influence in Northern Europe. Thanks to an impressive fleet, in the first part of the reign, the king reaffirmed Danish supremacy over the Baltic Sea (dominium maris Baltici) and supported Norwegian claims on the waters between the Scandinavian Peninsula and Iceland. However, by intervening in the Thirty Years’ War in 1625, the ambitious ruler fell prey to erroneous diplomatic and geopolitical choices, which jeopardized the very existence of the Kingdom of Denmark-Norway. Although Christian IV remains arguably the most iconic Danish monarch, his legacy is open to conflicting assessments: on the one hand, he brought the Dane-Norwegian state to the pinnacle of its prestige; on the other, his actions triggered the subsequent decline of Denmark and th...