This article was originally written as a section of my piece giving An Overview of Interconnected Law, but I thought it deserved a stand-alone blog post too. The underlying idea of Interconnected Law and socio-ecological relations is therefore absent here. To give a brief summary: humans, society, and nature are interwoven in dense networks of […]
Articles
A Socio-ecological Approach to Human Rights
June 29, 2026
This report seeks to map out the breadth and depth of what Rights of Nature legislation could cover, including the different possible elements of a legislative framework, considering subjecthood as a spectrum, the breadth of legal effects Rights of Nature can have, and some possible legislative models Much of this is relevant for anyone thinking about how best to implant Rights of Nature.
Interconnected Law Notes Archive
May 1, 2026
This is a 90-page archive of Alex May’s notes on the Interconnected Law project. This document has been prepared by an editor in case it is of use to anyone interested in the archive and working with it.
A Very Short Introduction to Interconnected Law
March 26, 2026
This article is a very short introduction and intends to seed further reading. It is a condensed version of ‘An Overview of Interconnected Law’.
5 – 10 minute engagement time.
An Overview of Interconnected Law
May 2, 2026
Interconnected Law is a new legal paradigm in which law should cultivate harmonious socio-ecological relations. This article offers an introductory overview.
20 – 30 minute engagement time.
Rights of Nature: A (Critical) Overview
March 15, 2026
This article is taken from the foundations section of my (forthcoming) report about Rights of Nature legislation. I thought it was worth publishing as a stand-alone blog post. 2.1 An Overview of Rights of Nature In this section I seek to give an overview of the idea(s) of Rights of Nature and (briefly) set out […]
The main thrust was that understanding law relationally, and in particular its role in reproducing the social order, is key to understanding the rule of law and law’s entanglement in current political crises
A Social Ecology Approach to Rights of Nature
September 25, 2025
An understanding of Social Ecology focuses the idea that Rights of Nature must be rooted in changing social relations. Note: this blog post was started by Alex May in early 2026. Due to severe illness Alex was unable to complete this alone. The unfinished blog was posted, with a description of the draft status at […]
Report: Realising Rights of Nature: Understanding the Variety of Legal Instruments
September 12, 2023
This Rights of Nature report maps out the variety of different legal instruments which have been developed globally in the pursuit of realising Rights of Nature.
The Interconnected Law Project
July 18, 2020
We live in an interconnected world. This is obvious globally – but it’s also true individually.
Every person lives in a network of relationships. We have our intimate relationships – family, partners, close friends – as well as our broader social relationships, neighbourhoods, communities, society and internationally.
Presentation on Interconnected Law
December 13, 2021
In July 2021, I was invited to give a workshop on Interconnected Law by the Future Law Institute. I was grateful for the opportunity to present my ideas, and it served as a useful catalyst for me to write a presentation covering it all. If you would like to listen only to the “summary” section, […]
openDemocracy Article
November 28, 2020
This article on openDemocracy sets out the overall idea of Interconnected Law. It is a longer one, but probably the best thing here to read to get the overall picture with some detail. Below are excerpts of the introduction and conclusion. The full article can be read here. Introduction Our world abounds with injustices, and […]
The burning of the Amazon is just the tip of the iceberg
August 9, 2020
Plundering nature is the norm within our legal and economic systems. Our survival depends on charting a new course. This article was initially published by openDemocracy (here) and then also by the Ecologist (here). As has now been widely reported, the Amazon rainforest is on fire due to a mixture of fires started for land clearance and […]
Legal Change to Protect Nature
July 18, 2021
This is a blog post written for the Wildlife and Countryside Link’s blog which aims to encourage environmentalists to think big about legal change and legal strategy. https://www.wcl.org.uk/what-legal-change-do-we-need-for-nature-to-be-truly-protected.asp
Article for the Ecologist
November 28, 2020
This article, written for the Ecologist, sets out an overview of the idea and argument of Interconnected Law, with particular focus on the need for radical transformation to stop our destruction of Nature. The article can be read here. Introduction Nature is being destroyed, and in turn, human survival is threatened. The optimism of the […]
Paradigm Shifts and Interconnected Law
August 15, 2020
The Interconnected Law Project The Interconnected Law project is looking to be part of a paradigm shift in how we understand and use law. Paradigms are ways of understanding things, a framework for interpreting and understanding the world. They are constellations of concepts, values, perceptions and practises that form part of a vision of reality, […]
What is a Relational Approach to Law?
August 17, 2020
The ‘interconnected’ approach to law is a relational approach. This means that it understands humans as relational beings, recognises the way that law affects these relationships, and frames law’s objective(s) in a relational way. This article is heavily influenced and draws from Jennifer Nedelsky’s book Law’s Relations: A Relational Theory of Self, Autonomy, and Law. […]
Rights of Nature and Earth Jurisprudence
September 20, 2020
Our planet, the natural world we live in and with, is being destroyed by us. It is more than that we are damaging our environment, what surrounds us; we are destroying the conditions which we need to live and survive. This has been known for years, yet still we continue. Climate change is probably the […]
The Foundations (Scholarship) of Interconnected Law
July 18, 2020
Interconnected Law is came out of three sets of existing scholarship: Earth Jurisprudence, relational approaches to law, and systems theory. Each of these both critiques existing legal systems (in the context of broader political, economic and social systems) and proposes how law should be instead. It seemed to me that these should be drawn together […]