[PhD Defence] Yehonatan Elazar-DeMota

On Tuesday June 8, at 12.00 hours CET, Asser researcher Yehonatan Elazar-DeMota will defend his doctoral thesis 'Nação Legal Consciousness and its Contribution to the Seventeenth-Century Dutch Republic Debate on Slavery and the Slave Trade'.

Asser academic director and chairperson of the Executive Board Prof. Dr Janne Nijman and Prof. Dr Emile Schrijver are his supervisors. Co- supervisor is Dr Geoff Gordon. Yehonatan's research has been part of the project ‘The Global City: Challenges, Trust and the Role of Law’, funded by the Gieskes-Strijbis Fonds.

The defence ceremony will take place at the Agnietenkapel in Amsterdam, and you can join via live broadcast here.

‘Nação legal consciousness and its contribution to the seventeenth-century Dutch republic debate on slavery and the slave trade’
Yehonatan Elazar-DeMota's thesis looks  specifically at how the Nação (Hebrews of the Portuguese nation)in 17^th Amsterdam contributed to the legal-political discussions of ius naturae et gentium - that is the law of nature and nations - in the Amsterdam-Dutch Republic debate on slavery and the slave trade. Whilst many have undertaken research on the development of the ius naturae et gentium, Yehonatan’s research sheds light on the contribution of the Sephardim in Amsterdam. His research aims to add to the discussion by examining 17^th century Portuguese Hebrew Nation in the Dutch Republic and its colonies, whose ideas of servitus, dominium and libertas were central to the justification of the Dutch Atlantic slave trade, as participants in, and contributors to the law of nature and nations. This thesis aims to reveal how the Nação in 17^th century Amsterdam participates in and contributes to the thinking, reasoning, and arguing about slavery and the slave trade, via the language, concepts, and notions of the time, which was dominated by the language of ius naturae et gentium. Read more about Yehonatan’s research here.

About the Asser Institute PhD Programme
The T.M.C. Asser Instituut's PhD Programme is a dynamic platform in an intimate research environment. PhD researchers are trained to work at the cutting edge of international law, conducting independent research at the interface of academia and practice, connecting also with other Dutch universities. The programme is interdisciplinary, designed to foster greater insights into the practices of international law in times of change. Asser PhD researchers benefit from close contact with (daily) supervisors. They are supported by professional training activities, featuring collaborative theoretical and methodological queries to assist the development of each dissertation.​