The Research Handbook on Soft Law seeks to provide a comprehensive and in-depth scholarly overview of the field of soft law, exploring the scope of current thinking in the field as well as proposing future pathways for soft law research.

Organized into four broad themes, the Research Handbook offers insights into the dynamic and complex nature of soft law. The first section delves into the conceptual history and development of soft law. Second, the Handbook explores the disciplinary understandings of soft law, examining how scholars from different fields investigate the topic. The third theme focuses on the public and private actors and institutions involved in soft law-making, providing a detailed analysis of the complex relationships that shape soft law. Finally, the fourth theme explores the role of soft law in addressing major global societal challenges, including among others climate change, gender inequality, and the regulation of artificial intelligence.

Mariolina Eliantonio (Maastricht University) and Emilia Korkea-aho (University of Eastern Finland) will present the Research Handbook and engage in a discussion with the community of scholars working on soft law in the EU and beyond. Danai Petropoulou Ionescu and Kena Zheng, both PhD researchers at Maastricht University, and Lisette Mustert, Assistant Professor at Utrecht University, will provide their comments to open the discussion.

Join us at the Law Faculty of Maastricht University or online on 6 December at 15:30! (Registration required.)