Jakob Zollmann

Dr. Jakob Zollmann is a Research Fellow at St Antony's College, University of Oxford, focusing on international relations, legal history, and the rule of law. His work examines colonial legal systems, interstate arbitration, and the intersections of law, diplomacy, and power across historical contexts. Key affiliations include the WZB Berlin Social Science Center and the German Historical Institute Paris. He holds a Ph.D. from Freie Universität Berlin (2008) and an LL.M. from UC Hastings College of the Law (2005).

Research interests center on the history of international law, colonial legal frameworks, and conflict resolution mechanisms. His projects analyze how arbitration tribunals and legal norms evolved in 19th–20th century diplomacy, with a focus on colonial contexts and post-WWI reparations. He explores themes like state sovereignty, cross-cultural legal exchanges, and the legacies of colonial governance.

Recent publications (2018–2023) address topics such as mixed arbitral tribunals, Namibian independence movements, and legal practices in German colonies. His work bridges legal history, political theory, and decolonial studies, emphasizing global legal pluralism and non-Western perspectives. Current research projects investigate interstate arbitration's role in pacification efforts and the transnational networks shaping early 20th-century legal institutions.