Narratives and Counter-Narratives of International Law in the Gift Shops of the Peace Palace and United Nations

Material approaches to international law have emerged as a new way to understand how international law structures our world. One particular object of international law serves as the basis of examination in this paper – the souvenirs that are sold at both the United Nations(UN) Headquarters gift shop in New York and the gift shop at the Peace Palace in The Hague. Drawing on literature on material studies as well as the material culture of tourism and souvenirs, this paper explores the narratives of international law presented in the objects available for sale at the UN and Peace Palace and examines some of the tensions inherent in the merchandising of international law through souvenirs.